hello and welcome to the upgrade the
podcast from the team at Lifehacker if
you're a podcast listener odds are you
listen to your favorite shows on Apple
podcasts a 2015 study found that almost
80% of podcast listening on iPhones
happen on Apple's default app the
podcast host Lipson also recently shared
data that revealed that more than 60% of
shows hosted on its platform or listened
to on you guessed it the Apple podcast I
get it it's free it's pre-installed it's
easy but if you're ready to graduate to
bigger and better apps and take your
podcast listening to the next level this
video is for you there are countless
podcast apps on the App Store but a lot
of them just aren't worth your time so I
chose eight of the best to test out I
ranked each app on three criteria visual
aesthetic the features they offer and
how easy it was to find new shows in the
app so what's the best podcast app on
iOS
well I found that only one app excelled
in all three categories pocket cast
pocket test has all the important
features variable-speed professor
listening voice boost to level out that
audio and trim silence to remove long
silences you can also create custom
playlists and save your favorite
episodes the interface is beautiful and
clean and intuitive and the discover
page has featured shows curated lists
and top charts to help you find new
podcasts pocket casts will set you back
up to 6 bucks but it really is the
complete package
it's the app I'd recommend for avid
podcast listeners but that's not to say
all the other apps on my list are bad
overcast is the closest you'll get to
the complete package for free and as all
the same features as pocket casts but
it's the stetic isn't as clean and
podcast discovery is a mess you won't
stumble across that next great podcast
in these few categories and they don't
seem to update that often most podcast
apps fundamentally words the same way
you subscribe to new shows new episodes
are downloaded you listen to some you
ignore others and you stress out as your
podcast backlog piles up
Kessler's unique approach tries to solve
that episodes from your subscriptions
arrive in an inbox and you can choose to
add them to a queue to listen or archive
them and forget about them castro
doesn't have custom playlists and the
discover page is somehow worse than over
guests but the interface is gorgeous the
animations are beautiful and features
like voice boost and silence trimming
are present and accounted for
given that you pay the yearly
subscription those three apps ranked
highest on my list and you can't go
wrong with any of them but the rest of
the apps on my list range from just okay
to downright awful Spotify and tune in
aren't podcast focused apps but if you
already use their services it's
convenient to also have access to your
favorite podcasts they do a passable job
of letting you subscribe to and stream
your favorite shows and their discover
pages are pretty good but you won't get
features like voice boost and custom
playlists and finally the last two apps
on my list you should probably just
avoid breakers sells itself as the
social podcast app but the interface is
cluttered the discover page is
horrendous and very little socialization
actually takes place even on the most
popular shows stitchers aesthetic is
atrocious and while its Discoverer page
is decent the app is constantly shoving
the stitcher premium service in your
face so whether you listen to the
occasional podcast or your queue as
dozens of episodes deep you owe it to
yourself to upgrade from the Apple
podcast app and you can't go wrong with
beautiful and feature packed apps like
pocket casts overcast and Castro
I plan to geek out a lot about apps here
on app directory so be sure to subscribe
so you don't miss any future episodes
let me know what podcast app you use in
the comments and hit me with any ideas
for what I should cover next thanks.
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