Google has launched a new app for those who love listening to podcasts. Unsurprisingly named as Google Podcasts, the app is Android-only for now but may soon reach Apple’s iOS. Some new features are expected to arrive as well. Android users can get their hands on the app from Google Play Store as it is now available globally.
Google has launched a new app for those who love listening to podcasts. Unsurprisingly named as Google Podcasts, the app is Android-only for now but may soon reach Apple’s iOS. Some new features are expected to arrive as well. Android users can get their hands on the app from Google Play Store as it is now available globally.
It is worth adding that Google Podcasts is not a full-fledged application in itself. It is a shortcut that navigates a user to the existing pages on Google app. For those unaware, the Mountainview-based tech firm integrated podcast services in its Google search app back in 2016 and later brought it to Play Music.
It has been mentioned that the Google Podcast experience will improve over time as and when the primary search app upgrades.
The app has a home screen that shows all the podcast channels to which a user has subscribed. Tapping on it shows the list of episodes along with the option to download them. To maintain the storage on the handset, the app also automatically deletes episodes. Users can decide the duration before the episode gets deleted.
The app also has a section called ‘For You’ wherein users are shown all the new episodes, those that are in progress and those that are in the download list. Other sections show the trending and top podcasts in different categories.
Google Podcasts’ AI recommendation engine works on what you are listening and other podcasts you are interested in. This will result in a more personalised carousel of podcasts over time.
As for the audio player, one can get hold of it from the bottom of the screen at any given time. There’s nothing new with the player as it gives you the same audio playback options. To access a podcast fast, you can even pin the artwork right on the home screen. The playback list syncs across devices and the podcasts are even integrated with Google Home and Assistant.
Google not just introduced a new app but also launched something called ‘Google Podcasts creator program’. This is made to storytelling in the app. “That’s why we’re also partnering with the podcast industry on a program to increase the diversity of voices and remove barriers to podcasting. The program will be guided by an advisory board from around the world, with the primary goal of enabling skills development and experimentation from underrepresented voices, as well as cultivating ideas and processes that can scale throughout the industry,” said Zack Reneau-Wedeen, product manager, Google Podcasts.
As for future updates, Google says it may bring automatic subtitling using speech-to-text technology. “Powered by Google Translate, subtitles can then be made available in a wide variety of languages, further improving access to podcasts,” said Wedeen.
