Google today introduced a new standalone podcast app for Android. Android users had to use Google Play Music and third-party apps to listen to any particular podcast, which is not convenient at all.
We don’t know why Google has waited so long before entering into the podcast game, but it’s better late than never.
This tells us one thing, Google Play Music’s lifetime is very short, it’s a dying app anyway. YouTube Music will become Google’s default streaming music service anytime soon.
So go ahead and download it from the Play Store, it’s free. You’ll likely find your favorite podcasts there, since more than 2 million podcasts will be added on launch day, according to Google.
Google podcasts is a basic and easy to use app with a simple, clean and intuitive design. Well, it’s lacking lots of features that many other premium podcast apps have inherently.
There’s lots of room for growth. There’s no auto-download, no Android Auto integration, you can’t import podcast list either.
It’s all about subscribing, searching and playing for now. Since it’s the first version, we should expect significant improvements in the next updates.
Google plans to use AI to make your personal recommendations, that must be nice since Google knows basically everything about you.
Google Podcasts is integrated with Google Assistant, and will be synced across all your Google devices. You can pick up where you left across different devices.
Google has currently no plan to develop an iOS version. You can download the app from the Play Store.
Editor’s Update: As of April 2, 2024, Google Podcasts has bitten the dust, joining the ranks of other fallen Google products. You can migrate your subscriptions to YouTube Music (though it’s not ideal for podcasts) or explore fantastic alternatives like Pocket Casts, Overcast, Antennapod, or even Apple Podcasts.
