iOS 16: What’s new for Apple Podcasts

iOS 16 and watchOS 9 include the following updates for Apple Podcasts:

Refreshed Now Playing screen

The Now Playing screen has been refreshed to display important information and useful controls.

Now, episode metadata is persistently displayed above episode and show titles, which have been adjusted to include more text before auto-scrolling. Publish dates appear for episodic shows while season and episode numbers are presented for serial shows. Listeners can also view these from the Now Playing mini bar, Control Center, and on the new Lock Screen.

The Sleep Timer, which displays a countdown until an episode is paused, is now just a tap away on the bottom right. Listeners can set the Sleep Timer to pause the current episode after a period of time, when the current episode ends, and, for episodes that support chapters, when the current chapter ends.

It’s also easier to adjust preferred playback speed using the bottom left menu — with options for 0.75x, 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, and 2x speed — and access controls for queuing, sharing, downloads, and more from the “...” button.

When listeners are looking to jump to a specific moment in an episode on iPhone, they can tap and hold on the playback position, then slide their finger over the artwork to switch between Hi-Speed, Half-Speed, Quarter-Speed, and Fine Scrubbing, and move left to seek backward or right to seek forward.

Updated Library in CarPlay

Now, listeners can access their entire Library in CarPlay, including every show they follow alongside new, saved, and downloaded episodes. When listeners customize sort orders or set filters for shows, they will be reflected while using CarPlay for a seamless navigation experience.

Listen Now and Search on Apple Watch

Listeners can discover new podcasts on the go in Listen Now featuring personalized recommendations based on their listening. They can also find, follow, and play any show or episode in the Apple Podcasts catalog using Search. Swipe, type, speak, or text any podcast to Apple Watch and queue it up for your next hike, bike, swim, or surf.

Top Subscriber Shows and Top Subscriber Channels

In August 2022, Apple Podcasts launched Top Subscriber Shows and Top Subscriber Channels. These two new charts feature the most popular premium content on Apple Podcasts and are easily accessible from the Browse and Search tabs. All users who update to iOS 16 will be able to browse these new charts.

Other improvements

Shows that are included in personalized recommendations on Listen Now, featured by the Apple Podcasts editorial team on Browse, or included on channel pages will now display their categories and update frequencies alongside their show artwork. These new metadata fields replace show and provider titles on these tabs to help new listeners better understand each show. Show and provider titles will continue to be displayed alongside show artwork on the Library and Search tabs, so make sure your show’s metadata is up to date and that your artwork includes your show’s title for the best experience.

Additionally, users should experience improvements in the way Apple Podcasts syncs playback history across shows and devices.