A minor update rolling out to Google Podcasts is unifying the app with some of the search giant’s other app offerings.
Several Google-made apps have received a new account switcher feature that places a user’s account icon in the top right corner of the app. From there, users can quickly switch between accounts by tapping the icon.
Podcasts now features the new icon in place of the three-dot overflow menu icon that previously inhabited the top right corner. Additionally, Podcasts sports the quick swipe gesture for swapping accounts that showed up in Gmail last year. Instead of tapping on the icon and selecting a different account, users can just swipe down on the profile icon to switch accounts. Plus, if you’re a Google One subscriber, the app displays a circle around your icon with the Google colours.
Along with account switching, the new menu includes an option to use Podcasts without an account. While that may ease concerns for some privacy advocates who don’t want Google snooping on their podcast habits, I can’t see it being that effective. If you have a Google account connected to that device, chances are pretty good that Google could connect data from one app used without an account to your account if it wanted to.
Finally, the menu includes an option to ‘Edit your podcasts,’ which just lets you select and delete shows en masse. Below is the link to the app’s settings menu.
Beyond that, the update doesn’t appear to bring anything else to the Podcasts app. While it’s nice to see Google unifying looks and functionality across its apps, I’m not sure how many people actually use multiple accounts for podcasts. Also, for those who are really into podcasts, Google’s app still lags behind competitors’ apps. Hopefully the next update brings more than a few UI tweaks.
Source: Android Police
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