Pocket Casts Comes to the Microsoft Store

Pocket Casts Comes to the Microsoft Store

As you may know, Pocket Casts is my favorite podcast app, and it’s on the short list of apps I use every single day.

Well, I have some good news: Shifty Jelly, the makers of Pocket Casts, have just released a new version of the app to the Microsoft Store. So it is now available specifically for Windows 10.

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This is interesting for a number of reasons.

First, Pocket Casts was previously available only on Android, iOS, and the web. The firm doesn’t offer a native app on Windows or Mac, and it says it has no plans to do so.

But in looking at Pocket Casts for Windows 10, it’s obvious that this is just the web version of the app. So the next question is whether this is a PWA or a hosted web app. As it turns out, that mystery is probably quickly solved: It doesn’t offer any download/offline capabilities like the Android and iOS versions of the app. So it’s probably just a hosted web app.

UPDATE: Actually, maybe not. If you open a podcast episode, you will see a download link! That is interesting. Maybe this is a PWA. That said, it looks like the web app supports downloading too. —Paul

Whatever. Any addition of a high-quality app to the Microsoft Store is welcome. And this is a particularly good one.

You can download Pocket Casts for Windows 10 from the Microsoft Store. Note that Pocket Casts is not free: Each app version has a separate required payment and the web version is $9. I think it’s worth paying for. And I’ve done so on each supported platform.

 

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Conversation 34 comments

  • zvonimirm

    Premium Member
    21 March, 2018 - 11:59 am

    <p>Hi Paul, </p><p>It is beta version and it is free for now. </p>

  • Nicholas Kathrein

    21 March, 2018 - 12:08 pm

    <p>Yes, I agree. Pocket Casts is great. I which they had a yearly subscription I could opt into. I'd like to pay them some money yearly to thank them for their hard work.</p>

  • Ben Moore

    21 March, 2018 - 12:33 pm

    <p>I'm a Pocket Casts Android and iOS customer. When I try to login to the Microsoft Store version with my credentials I get "Sorry this beta is not available for trial users."</p>

    • starkover

      21 March, 2018 - 12:56 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#255157"><em>In reply to fastoy:</em></a></blockquote><p>I got the same response, logged into the web app and paid for the web app. Returned to the Desktop app and I'm in.</p>

      • bbold

        21 March, 2018 - 1:32 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#255168"><em>In reply to starkover:</em></a></blockquote><p>I experienced the same issue. Must be a bug. I would expect a dialog box to redirect me to the website, or inform me that I can't use unless I'm out of beta or trial mode. Thanks for the heads up!</p>

        • starkover

          21 March, 2018 - 1:52 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#255190"><em>In reply to bbold:</em></a></blockquote><p>I was informed that the beta wouldn't work in trial mode, that's why I knew to go to the web.</p><p><br></p><p>As the desktop app is a beta, paying for the web app was sufficient to give me access to the desktop app.</p>

    • flipside

      Premium Member
      21 March, 2018 - 1:33 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#255157"><em>In reply to fastoy: Just looked at this and each app is priced seperatly so buy on one platform doesnt give you access to the othes</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p>

    • Jeremy Petzold

      21 March, 2018 - 8:27 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#255157"><em>In reply to fastoy:</em></a></blockquote><p>I don't have this problem….I have been using the Beta web version though so maybe that is it. I did notice you can't search for it in the windows store app.</p>

  • rmlounsbury

    Premium Member
    21 March, 2018 - 12:33 pm

    <p>Well this is welcome news. I've also paid for the app on every platform and it is my go-to for podcasts. I'm glad they have an option in the MS Store now as well. I'm glad I've stuck with them over the years. </p>

  • mruszczyk

    21 March, 2018 - 12:45 pm

    <p>Paul,</p><p>This is a copy of their beta webapp it seems which has been built as a PWA. Pretty great they put it in the store!</p>

  • thespecificocean

    21 March, 2018 - 1:15 pm

    <p>SO excited about this. It's one of the PWAs I was waiting for as I use Pocket Casts literally everyday. </p>

  • Chaoticwhizz

    21 March, 2018 - 1:43 pm

    <p>It requires the paid webapp service to use correctly. It's a one-time fee of $9. Definitely worth it if you listen to podcasts regularly.</p>

    • Jeremy Petzold

      21 March, 2018 - 8:29 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#255197"><em>In reply to Chaoticwhizz:</em></a></blockquote><p>I don't remember paying that much for the web version….I might have though…its been a while and I always say "shutup and take my money" to Pocket Casts.</p>

  • Mike Brady

    21 March, 2018 - 1:46 pm

    <p>This is great! I'm going to give them more money. They had a nice version for the Windows Phone that I used for a while in another universe.</p><p><br></p><p>I don't understand why they haven't made a version for my Kindle Fire. I'd give them money for that too.</p>

    • NazmusLabs

      21 March, 2018 - 2:53 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#255207"><em>In reply to Mike_Brady:</em></a></blockquote><p>Me too, after Microsoft killed podcasts support with the transition, the podcasts experience on the Windows phone became very bad. Pocket Casts marked an important milestone for my podcast consumption in the Windows Phone back in the day. Now that I'm back on iOS, I still use Pocket Casts on my iPhone SE.</p>

  • Lewk

    Premium Member
    21 March, 2018 - 2:01 pm

    <p>I use Grover Pro, I feel it is much nicer with better features.</p>

  • bgoodbody

    Premium Member
    21 March, 2018 - 2:26 pm

    <p>Trial Version doen't work with Trial on Windows 10! The link is to a beta. You must pay for it via the web.</p><p><br></p>

  • wolters

    Premium Member
    21 March, 2018 - 2:44 pm

    <p>Agreed that it is nice to have this in the Windows Store. I've been using the "Windowed Chrome App" version of it and it looks virtually the same. Wish it would pause via media keyboards though. Google Music's "Chrome App" will…</p>

  • Polycrastinator

    21 March, 2018 - 2:46 pm

    <p>Great. Happy to pay for Pocket Casts (again, on another platform).</p><p>With it being a Windows 10 app, my only wish is that for podcasts with both a video and audio feed, it would be nice if you could watch one on one platform, and shift to the other option on another, so I could for instance listen to Windows Weekly on my commute, then finish up watching the video on my lunchbreak on my computer without searching around for where in the episode I was.</p><p><br></p>

    • wunderbar

      Premium Member
      21 March, 2018 - 3:31 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#255251"><em>In reply to Polycrastinator:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Just subscribe to the video feed, and when the app is closed it still plays the audio. This is what I've done for years.</p>

  • Guy Named Bob

    21 March, 2018 - 3:37 pm

    <p>Did Shifty Jelly ever add video podcast support to the Win10 Mobile app? At the time they released that app they bragged about how the developer would never abandon support and continue to make improvements…big fat lie!</p><p>That and lack of app on any XBox (or any streaming platform aside from Chromecast) is what keeps me far away from considering this product.</p>

  • Soccerush

    21 March, 2018 - 4:21 pm

    <p>It's just a desktop app. Can someone who has also used Grover Pro, which is a UWP app, please explain how Pocket Casts is a better choice? </p><p><br></p><p>my 2-cents:</p><p>For my money, I prefer a $5 UWP like Grover, which also has video podcast support and offline/downloading capabilities, and synchronizes my podcasts and personalized settings across my Windows Phone, PC, and Xbox. Grover Pro just seems like a better choice, but I might be missing something, hence my initial question.</p>

    • MikeCerm

      21 March, 2018 - 4:52 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#255307"><em>In reply to Soccerush:</em></a></blockquote><p>Grover is Windows-only, whereas Pocket Casts is cross platform (iOS, Android, web).</p>

  • JJaret

    Premium Member
    21 March, 2018 - 4:26 pm

    <p>No Chromecast support. Web app via Chrome supports Chromecast. I am sure it is an Edge issue. Arghhhh!</p>

  • hytran77

    21 March, 2018 - 4:48 pm

    <p>This is probably Electron based on what one of the developers said 4 months ago:</p><p><br></p><p>https://www.reddit.com/r/pocketcasts/comments/70v3yo/web_player_v20_beta/?sort=new#bottom-comments</p&gt;

  • tomrb

    21 March, 2018 - 4:51 pm

    <p>The PodCast app I use is Grover Pro. It is a true UWP app, Supports Video and offline downloads. Much better in my opinion and it is cheaper than Pocket Casts. The only advantage I see that Pocket Casts has is that it is cross-platform.</p>

  • Piras

    21 March, 2018 - 8:00 pm

    <p>Just use this, same thing, and free:</p><p>https://playbeta.pocketcasts.com/web/</p&gt;

  • Jeremy Petzold

    21 March, 2018 - 8:16 pm

    <p>Yes!!!!!!!!! I have been using the web player. This is great news!</p>

  • Lauren Glenn

    21 March, 2018 - 11:00 pm

    <p>About time we have a good Podcast app. There was one that I used constantly but the author closed up shop. Sure, it had its problems… they all did…. but all of them were flawed with usability. I'm hoping this one fares better. Hopefully (unlike the Windows Phone one) it plays video too.</p><p><br></p>

  • DaddyBrownJr

    22 March, 2018 - 4:25 pm

    <p>Just going to the store and searching for Pocket Casts returns no results. It shows up by following the link in the article. Why would that be?</p>

  • Wingman709

    23 March, 2018 - 1:40 am

    <p>I have been a user of Grover Pro on Win10 and the native Podcast app on iPhone since Grover is not on iOS. I am so grateful to finally have a podcast app that will sync between my Surface Pro and iPhone. Thank you so much for this recommendation. To answer your question Paul on Windows Weekly, I could not get the Win10 Beta app until I created an account on the website and paid $9. Then I could use the Beta app. I also paid $3 for the iPhone app. Love it so far. Will take some getting use to as I have used the others for so long, but the sync makes it all worth it. Thanks again for making my life easier with your suggestion.</p>

  • kip030

    23 March, 2018 - 6:34 am

    <p>There is a download option on the beta web version too, not sure how that works, I suspect if I were to hotspot my phone I may be able to load the site and save data on a non-mobile device, or my Windows Tablet.</p><p><br></p><p>That said, I'm thrilled they finally came out with a standard Windows Store app, I also observed today they are no longer available on Windows Phone, which, oddly, is where I started using their client. I have bought it on every platform I'm aware of, so at least when it comes to myself, they made some money off of the Windows mobile effort. </p>

  • Juliusky

    27 March, 2018 - 10:23 pm

    <p>My last update for developer add. wiped out the app store. Have no idea what happened. </p>

  • james621lara

    08 February, 2019 - 7:32 am

    <p>Thanks For sharing this information. It’s Nice..!!!</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

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