Podcasts have exploded in popularity since they first came onto the scene in the early 2000’s. The move to smartphones and busy lifestyles with commuting, has only increased this popularity to the extent that phones seem to have become the main medium for consuming them. In such an environment, a good podcast app can really make your life much easier.
We all have our favourite podcast apps. Android Central recently did a cool round up of the best podcast apps. I’ve used a couple, starting with the original (and now defunct) Google Listen, moving onto PodKicker Pro and then DoggCatcher. However recently I have moved onto PlayerFM and am really liking it. It has a nice Material Design theme, is ad-free, has a web interface, good Android Wear support and the ability to discover new shows very easily (something that was a challenge on some other apps). Now a new update has brought version 3.5 with some cool new functionality. These include binge-friendly download ordering, custom series-setting, search auto-complete, a dark theme, and cloud synced playlists.
The last feature is one that I am really looking forward too. It’s something that has been available on paid apps such as Pocket Casts, but this is the first major free app to have this functionality. The ability to be listening on one device and have it synced on another is pretty cool. And this will extend to older podcasts in your “play later” playlist.
What kind of podcast apps do you guys use? Is this extra functionality something that would bring towards PlayerFM? As usual, sound off in the comments below.