One of the more exciting announcements Apple made at WWDC was that it’s bringing its Podcasts app to watchOS.
Along with this news, the company shared that watchOS 5 will support third-party audio apps and background audio playback.
All of these announcements led users to one question. How well will third-party podcasting apps like Overcast and Pocket Casts work on Apple Watch?
Downloading yes, streaming no: is the answer from Apple at this stage.
— Pocket Casts (@pocketcasts) June 13, 2018
So far the only answers we have about this is a few tweets from the official Pocket Casts app. The account says users will be able to download podcasts, but not stream them.
Pocket Casts also mentions that transferring podcasts to the watch is a really slow process, especially if the watch isn’t sitting on the charger.
Somewhere between very slow and OMG I CAN’T COPE ANYMORE slow. Fairly reliable though, especially if the watch is on the charger.
— Pocket Casts (@pocketcasts) June 13, 2018
So far watchOS 5 is still in developer preview, so some of these issues could be fixed by the time the public release launches in the fall.
Even with somewhat limited functionality, simply having the ability to play podcasts from your favourite podcasting app on the Apple Watch will be a huge step forward. Anyone that like to listen to interviews and conversations while they’re exercising should be really excited about this update.
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