Apple Has Ruined Its Podcasts App (slate.com) 134
Mike Pesca, host of Slate's daily podcast The Gist, writes about the recent interface changes to Apple's Podcasts app (condensed): Up until two months ago, the Apple Podcasts app was the only podcasting app I used. It gave me a nice, workable list of the shows I liked; let me know when those shows were updated; played the shows easily and without glitches; and offered the option of listening in double speed. I knew where everything was, and I thought of its shortcomings not as features the app was lacking but more like things one simply could not do with a podcast. If the Apple Podcast app wasn't great for sharing podcasts via email or text -- and it was not -- I told myself, "That just must be something that's hard for a podcast app to execute." I figured the best a podcasting app could do was to facilitate sharing the feed of a show, rather than the specific episode I was listening to. I never dared dream I could send a specific time within that episode. What sorcery is that? But sometime in the past few months, the Apple app began to fail me. Of my four basic requirements, three suffered. The list of the shows I listened to was now incomplete. There was no longer a number denoting how many episodes of each show I had on the app. The list of unplayed episodes had melded into the list of played episodes. I was offered the opportunity to browse my "Library," but access to any "card catalog" or "Dewey Decimal System" proved elusive. Apple kept pushing me toward my "recently updated" shows, but these weren't the offerings most useful to me every time I checked back in.
overcast (Score:5, Informative)
I agree with the statements about Apple's podcasts app - the shortcomings made me finally switch to the frequently recommended "overcast" app and after a few days of it I'm regretting not switching sooner
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here's a iTunes link to that app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/ap... [apple.com]
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Apple has been slowly messing everything up because Tim Cook doesn't have the balls to say no to stupid ideas, where as Steve would fire those idiots in the elevator ride down from his office.
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I'm not sure that's the problem. I think Tim thinks these things are good ideas. I'd blame Ives more, he seems to be off the rails.
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Plenty of idiotic ideas came out of Steve Jobs; iTunes still sucked when he was alive.
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From the headlines. It seems that Apples QC department is under some pressure or bad leadership in the middle management.
It may be that Apple was trying to shove so much stuff out by Christmas and they can fix the software later. It seems like iOS and OS X new version was rushed to be on the new products with a lot of details missing or not perfected, and the probably needed until March to get them out.
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Re:overcast (Score:5, Informative)
I'm shocked by OPs statements... only because Apple's Podcast app has sucked for much longer than 6 months! Injecting ads into the middle of the podcast, failing to update if the app isn't running in the background (killing the app by swiping up means you won't know you have a new podcast until the app is restarted) and failing to download new podcasts when app clearly has permission to use wifi when the app is not active... these were all things that frustrated me to no end!
I switched to Overcast about a year ago and Podcasts are finally the awesomeness they should have always been.
I'm tempted here to launch into a tirade about how bad Apple Music is on the iPhone as well, but I'll leave that for another /. post.
Re: overcast (Score:1)
Apple Podcasts app inserts ads? Iâ(TM)ve never ever heard one. Ever. What are you talking about?
Re: overcast (Score:1)
I was wondering that too. Is it possible the podcasts simply have ads in them now?
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The Apple podcast app does not inject ads into the podcasts.
However, it does suck in most other respects and has now become almost unusable.
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I guess it's possible that multiple unrelated podcasts had a sudden lapse in editing quality, each one of them cutting to commercials mid-sentence, then returning to the programming without so much as a blink. So I might have been wrong to assume that it was apple injecting those clearly locale based ads... I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong.
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But yeah the Apple Podcasts app doesn't insert ads.
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I hate to tell you this, but that second part is very much by design. Swiping to kill an app disables all background downloads for that app, period. It's not supposed to be *possible* for a
Re:the problem with overcast (Score:2)
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Unmonetizable content. They can't collect 30% of free.
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The real question that I see, is why is this guys opinion about a silly app making headlines.
If you don’t like the App switch. When the vendor realizes they don’t have as many users they Will either:
Fix it
Break it more
Let it die
Kill it
Sue the successful app
Sue the users
Buy some company
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I tried Overcast for a while, but it didn't work for the way I listen to podcasts. I switched to Pocket Casts, which costs money but is awesome.
(No, I didn't write it.)
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That's all (Score:4, Informative)
You think that's all the ruined. How about the Music App which has gone to hell since 8.3 was released. This is what pisses me off the most
Re:That's all (Score:4, Funny)
You're not supposed to use the 'Music App' from the company who sold you the hardware. You're supposed to hunt for third party apps in the wild, braving spyware and adware, like MEN used to do.
Tim Cook is basically playing the role of Leto Atreides here. He knows his rule is tyrannical and he's decided to start The Scattering to third party applications.
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Right? How is it possible that you can "Rate", "Like" and "Love" music in the desktop app, and they all do different things(stupid in it's own right), and then when using Apple Music Radio, those buttons all do different (and sometimes nothing at all) things?!?!?! WTF apple? It's like you don't know what product management is.
Re:That's all (Score:5, Insightful)
I once had shuffle turned on by accident.
I had to Google search how to turn off shuffle. The Music app is THAT bad.
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I once had shuffle turned on by accident.
I had to Google search how to turn off shuffle. The Music app is THAT bad.
That is how all functions in Apple software "works".
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I once had shuffle turned on by accident.
I had to Google search how to turn off shuffle. The Music app is THAT bad.
The funny thing is that it did not used to be so. They also broke out audiobooks from the music app to the books app and the player there is terrible. If it crashes when you're 15 hours into an audiobook? Good luck finding your spot again. IF its one monolithic file, it goes right back to the beginning of your file. IF you have something like an .aa file, with chapters, it only dumps you right back to the beginning of the chapter. But when it was a part of the music app, it actually kept track of where
Apple's feeling more and more like moz://a to me. (Score:1)
I'm getting worried about Apple. I'm feeling more and more of the moz://a vibe from it.
By that I mean we're seeing Apple do more and more things that they want to do, rather than giving customers what the customers desire.
We've seen moz://a do this with Firefox. While Firefox was initially developed in a way that benefited users, and provided them with a superior browser, over time we've seen the opposite happen. Changes have been made to Firefox not based on any demand or desire from users, but rather just
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They always maintained a record of your purchases.
Infact every company you buy something from does, for at least 7 years. It's a legal requirement in a lot of countries.
Re: Apple's feeling more and more like moz://a to (Score:2)
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It's certainly a legal requirement in Europe for a company to keep a record of all its financial activities for that long. I find it unlikely that the USA doesn't.
Thos financial activities include everything you have bought off them.
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"By that I mean we're seeing Apple do more and more things that they want to do, rather than giving customers what the customers desire."
Apple's always done that, though. I mean, even more than most companies. See, e.g., Steve "You're Holding it Wrong" Jobs.
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It will work out fine, Microsoft will give them $150 million, and Steve Jobs will come back.
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Yeah, this has been going on for awhile, I think the inmates (i.e., the "creatives") are running the asylum. Lots of app updates for the sake of changing things that aren't broken, and a lack of fixes for things that clearly don't work (I'm looking at you, iTunes).
New version = worse version (Score:5, Insightful)
Here is a useful hint. If you have an established popular product, web or software, and someone comes along suggesting a "refresh because it is getting stale" Fire them. have them escorted from premises as soon as possible. (With a few swift kicks if possible.) These people serve no useful purpose, and waste valuable oxygen. A refreshed, modern interface will NOT bring new users to your product, but the features that you thought were unimportant, and removed will drive some of your current users away.
Looking at you Slashdot.
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It's a universal problem. Windows, office and even facebook are obvious examples from outside of Apple's walled garden. The progression is usually the same:
1. Program starts out simple and functional, if a little rough around the edges and lacking features.
2. In the next few versions the bugs get ironed out, the important features are sorted and the UI becomes polished to the point where it fades into the background (as a good UI should).
3. For whatever reason - maybe the main developer got bored and left
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Most of the good stuff still has an RSS feed and gPodder will do a reasonable job of picking up what you ask for. I refuse to use iTunes or any other walled garden user exploitation sofware. Sadly the internet is dying, soon we will remember the old open internet the same way many people view the 60's as a golden age of "freedom". If it is only available on iTunes then don't subscribe to it.
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The only way to list yourself on iTunes is by providing a URL for an RSS feed. Trouble is next that lots of websites only submit that URL to a list of podcast directories and never praying a link on their web site. Sometimes it will still get indexed by Google, but you have to search by file type.
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Fire them.
From a cannon.
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Fire them.
From a cannon.
Into the sun!
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Brilliant post. I'm the same age as you and used to be a software developer in a high-value industry. Our UIs always stayed broadly the same and only ever changed or added features in response to customer demand, not because some jumped-up marketing twat thought it would be a good idea to change it. Never took away features ever, why would we do that? Buried one once under an Advanced menu when we realised that too many novice users were accidentally screwing shit up with it, but never removed it.
Like y
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Same thing for AppleTV (Score:1)
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Making nerdy features less prominent to make the UI more approachable is actually a great goal. They always seem to forget to leave the other features in and make them discoverable.
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And to make /. postings with bad grammar!
Like iTunes (Score:2)
Why an app? (Score:1)
I've never used a podcast app. I download podcasts on my computer and copy them to my phone.
Re: Why an app? (Score:3)
What decade are you living in? Why wouldn't you want your phone to automatically download podcasts you subscribe to?
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When I discover a new podcast, usually I "binge listen". I set all of them to "new" and then I go through them. I don't listen to all of them, but I selectively skim over them until I'm caught up. Then it just downloads the new one.
If you're an iOS user, don't go near the native podcast client with a 10 foot pole. I use the Overcast podcast player.
Three things changed (Score:2)
1. It now defaults to polling every hour on the hour and if it doesn't reply at that time it gets confused. I had to manually reset every thing to checking once a week (for weekly podcasts) or every day (for anything else).
2. It tries to Sync everything. The overhead on this is a nightmare. It's like "are you sure you have the rights to view that ... how about now, did they expire ... oops it says you don't have this (thing you listened to already) let me download it again".
3. You have to both Subscribe an
Most people have moved on from podcasts (Score:1)
Shortwave is huge now, you don't even need a data plan or a phone.(I gave my phone away)
Infowars is even on tonight 4840KHz
Pocketcasts... (Score:2)
I don't know why the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" rule no longer applies to apps. It's frustrating.
Cloud Centric (Score:2)
Apple peaked shortly after Jobs died (Score:1)
It was the 4s, the 5s was a compromise.
After that, they're on the usual tech plateau that all tech companies end up on.
No headphone jack, that's courageous. FaceId? Meh.
But more importantly, their software is in decline. I'll grant you APFS, that's an interesting achievement.
But removing the iTunes App Store and leaving it only on the phone? That's stupid.
Spotlight on iOS no longer shows which folder the app is in. I need that.
Bluetooth and wifi are always on? Dumb and insecure.
Apple accessories? Beat headp
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this -> Bluetooth and wifi are always on? Is that like a dream for all the gov and bad guys, wtf? thank you sir for this info!
what:
"The buttons found in the control centre – which has received a major redesign for iOS 11 – actually do something else, despite appearing to switch off the wireless technologies. Instead, when you press the buttons – both for Bluetooth and WiFi – they'll just disconnect from all the things they're currently attached to."
Thanks, good to know.
Too bad they don't have AntennaPod (Score:2)
It's the best IMO, but Apple doesn't seem to allow apps that compete with theirs.
This has been an ongoing trend for a decade. (Score:5, Insightful)
Windows, Google Applications, General applications, Android, iOS - UI developers and UI managers or UX or whatever they call themselves, they seem to get it right in one or two iterations and after that, for the most part they are *NO LONGER NEEDED* but management keep these huge teams on and they need to 'fiddle' to justify existence.
I've whined, easily 100 times across the internet about this, but people just endure it, they don't lose customers due to it, unless it's a particularly egregious screw up unfortunately.
We're looking at apps with flat colours, no dividing lines, no shading, weird animations, massive massive amounts of white space, no coloured icons, no *GODDAMN LABELLING OF ICONS*, etc. Many of those "gaudy!" things, help you easily identify what you're doing or about to do. While you may still get used to doing things with the app, I find often, I will hesitate for one fraction of a second, maybe even just .2 seconds when I'm clicking unlabeled, uncoloured icons, every.single.time, because my brain has to confirm it's right.
Problem is, when I do these functions thousands or tens of thousands of times a year, they're wasting my damn time.
and, boy, oh BOY am I glad I no longer work in first level technical support. I would be horrendously angry over the past 5-10 years, IMMENSELY so. Being able to describe the GREEN SQUARE icon on the left, in the BOX next to the RED CIRCLE ICON and the icon is LABELLED "GO" is vastly easier than: ..white, like all the other icons, it's going from right to left, yeah it's kind of in the middle of nothing, it's up the top left, no the other top left, no really sir it IS there. You say it isn't? Can you describe what you see? Lots of white eh, any words? No words oh........ what icons are there? ... yes .. an odd shape ok put your mouse over it so we can get the tooltip name for it,......... oh you're on a touchscreen ....... ok ..well ummm "
"No, click the arrow, yes, it's
Seriously these changes are mind-bogglingly bad for end users and first level support, but as we all know, saves them money having a translation team, doesn't it?
I loathe it.
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I just love trying to read light gray text on a white background, that's the best!
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Gizmodo gave Windows Phone 8.1 a positive review, and it's full of UX nerd nonsense like this.
https://gizmodo.com/windows-ph... [gizmodo.com]
Giant, no-caps headings are still a terrific alternative to the tired and needlessly skeuomorphic concept of "tabs." Windows Phone's almost complete lack of borders in favor of cleverly utilized bands of negative space still makes it one of the best looking interfaces around. Live tiles are still colorful, and striking, and a somehow weirdly fun take on icons, even if an army of widget-squares maybe isn't quite as nice as having a proper notification hub.
However look at the comments
You don't find Windows 8 hard to support?
"Are you on the desktop or "tile" screen?"
"What's the tile screen?"
"The screen with all those tiles..."
"Oh...no, I'm on the desktop."
"Can you hit the Windows key and get back to the tile screen?"
"Where's the Windows key?"
"On the bottom row of your keyboard."
"Oh, I see it. OK I'm there."
"Now hit Windows + I and a menu will pop out of the right side"
"It does, but every time I move my mouse near it it disappears..."
"*sigh*"
I didn't say it's easy to support. I said it's not that hard of an OS to us once you actually try. It's terrible to support because people are fucking stupid. That's where WebEx comes in handy.
Windows Phone managed to stagger on for one more release before Microsoft killed it.
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but as we all know, saves them money,... doesn't it?
I loathe it.
EC3:
So much for the Afterglow... Ever Clear
I come to you beyond belief.... Elvis Costello
The world's a mess its in my kiss... Exene Cervenka
Now try having visual acuity problems (Score:2)
I'll admit this had never even occurred to me until my grandmother started developing glaucoma and other visual issues. She's legally blind now, but perhaps clearer UIs would have enabled her to learn podcasts/audiobooks while she still h
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My parents (70ish) just bought a new Mac after having OS 9 & early OS X machines for many years. They called me to help get them set up. Wow! Explaining user interface elements over the phone was PAINFUL. Flat UI design has totally removed the visual identity of a button. A big rectangle with a word in it is not recognizable as a button. A circle is not a button. A word floating in space is not a button.
There were so many things that as a person who uses a computer daily & many different application
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And, hey, thanks to the genius at Apple who decided to make the scroll bars disappear. Wouldn't want a user to know there was more to view in a window.
That genius must not even use a Mac. Have you ever tried to click the last item in Finder in a list view when the left/right scroll bar has disappeared? The second you click where the item is, the scroll bar magically appears over the top of it and you end up scrolling the window instead of selecting the item you want. Perfect usability.
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iTunesification: definition.... (Score:2)
Thought I was the lone complainer (Score:2)
The new UI for the Podcasts app is really awful, but I can chalk that up to the general dumbing down of user interfaces everywhere. My big problem is just basic functionality...you can't have a bunch of podcasts (even in the same feed!) play one after the other, so you have to mess with the phone when one ends to start the next one. This kills usability for me, because I really don't like touching the phone while I'm driving. I'm not usually in 5 MPH traffic crawling along...it's usually 45-55 MPH heavy tra
PLEASE no "Apple ruined [this]" (Score:2)
the real problem (Score:2)
Playlists Missing Too (Score:1)
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I used to use smart playlists for my podcasts. Once the podcast app stopped supporting them a couple of years ago, I had to find an alternative. Overcast was it. No I can't use my playlists, but it at least works to get podcasts and play them in the order I want. No need for syncing, or iTunes or playlists. If you want playlists added back to the Podcasts app, then you'll need to log a bug at bugreport.apple.com I have seen several changes because of bugs logged. The star ratings are back because of a
TOA calls it a "podcasting" app. (Score:2)
Did I miss something? This was a Podcast Aggregator or even a "Podcast app". It was not for podcasting.
The word is analagous to "broadcasting". A podcast app is more comparable to a Tivo or even a VCR. Neither of those would often be acused of broadcasting.
A few years ago, I was polled to ask if I had ever tried podcasting. I haven't but I do listen to a good number of podcasts. The result of the poll was that podcastts are silly because nobody listens to them as roughly 0% of people do any podcasting
That's not true (Score:2)
Apple didn't ruin the podcast up. They ruined the entire f__king platform.
iOS 11 is probably the single worst release they've ever put out. They're already at 11.2 after only 3 months, my bluetooth has become frustratingly unstable, the apps are definitely more wonky...
I'm beginning to regret buying my iPhone 7 earlier this year. I never imagined that Apple would screw up iOS so badly. But here it is. Apple is supposed to sell premium devices with premium experiences. That's why they charge premium pr
universally hated (Score:1)
The new app is universally hated. I’ve been reading bad reviews everywhere. In the App Store itself there are no bad or good reviews, apparently the reviews have been disabled. How can apple fumble something so bad? During the beta tests my feedback was constant about all sorts of problems with the UI and the workflow. It does not work as simply as it used to, or the way it should since the old way wasn’t perfect either but at least it was usable.