iOS 15.5: What’s new for Apple Podcasts

iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, and macOS 12.4 include the following updates for Apple Podcasts:

Annual subscription plans

Creators can now present annual subscription plans alongside monthly subscription plans to new subscribers through the new plan picker. The plan picker appears when listeners tap Subscribe or Try Free on a show or channel with a subscription, and annual plans are selected by default. When the cost of an annual plan is lower than that of a monthly plan, the picker displays how much listeners can save with an annual plan.

Subscribers interested in moving from a monthly plan to an annual plan can go to the Listen Now tab and tap the Account button. Tap Manage Subscriptions, then tap the desired podcast subscription and choose an available annual plan.

Ensure an annual plan appears by adding a yearly price in Apple Podcasts Connect. Learn how to set up a subscription with a yearly price and manage subscription pricing.

More ways to manage storage

Listeners can configure new preferences for automatic downloads to ensure the episodes they desire are available for offline playback while preserving device storage.

From the Settings app on iPhone and iPad, navigate to Podcasts, then tap Automatically Downloaded to choose how many episodes are downloaded and kept on the device for all shows. Listeners can choose to keep a number of recent episodes (for example, 3 Latest Episodes per Show), all episodes published recently (for example, Last 14 Days), All New Episodes, or none (Off) so that all episodes are streamed when played. For those new to Apple Podcasts, the latest five episodes are kept for all episodic shows and all episodes are kept for serial shows by default. Otherwise, all new episodes are kept by default.

When listeners adjust this preference, their device will prompt them to remove automatically downloaded episodes that do not meet the newly selected criteria. Episodes that were manually downloaded or saved will not be removed. This preference can be customized for each show a listener follows in the Apple Podcasts app by tapping “...” on a show page, then Settings, and selecting a preference from Automatically Downloaded.

Apple Podcasts will also now recommend removing old downloads to free up device storage for new episodes and other media. Listeners can find these recommendations in Settings by tapping General, then iPhone Storage. If podcast episodes take up 15% or more of a device’s storage, an indicator will appear on the Downloaded section of Library in Apple Podcasts. Tapping Downloaded will prompt listeners to keep the latest five episodes per show and delete all older downloads. This prompt will appear if podcast episodes continue to represent a significant portion of a device’s storage.

Learn more about Automatic Downloads on Apple Podcasts.

Recent updates to Apple Podcasts

These are the latest in a series of meaningful updates to Apple Podcasts for listeners and creators. With iOS 15.4, listeners gained the ability to browse shows by season and filter episodes by status. As of last month, listeners in the US and Canada can also browse three new Apple Podcasts Collections — Darkside, tbh, and Popped — to easily discover their next true crime binge and find great episodes about what’s happening in culture and entertainment.

Creators recently gained the ability to upload MP3 files for subscriber audio, customize subscription banners on show pages, get help launching a subscription with JumpStart, download new Listening Reports, and view Followers in Apple Podcasts Connect. Today, Apple Podcasts also announced Delegated Delivery, which helps creators publish their free and premium audio through participating third-party hosting providers. Learn more about Delegated Delivery.

With these updates, Apple Podcasts continues to offer the best experience for listeners to discover, enjoy, and support their favorite shows and for creators to grow their audiences and build their businesses.