A Google-centric blog has discovered evidence that the search giant will finally release its own podcasts app for Android.
As you may know, Google currently offers podcast access via its Google Play Music app. I use, recommend, and really like Google Play Music. But it’s not the right place for podcasts, and not just because of the name. Podcasts are different from songs—or from audiobooks, for that matter—and it’s always been an uneasy fit.
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So after evaluating the podcast support in Google Play Music a while back, I gave up. And went back to using the right tool for the job: Pocket Casts for podcasts, Audible for audiobooks, and Google Play Music for music. The motto here is the same as always: The right tool for the job.
But Google needs to have a presence in podcasts, just as Apple and other platform makers do. So it’s been extending the back-end podcast support it created for Google Play Music to include Google Home and Google Assistant, for voice commands. And now we know they are creating a standalone Google Podcasts app as well. This makes tons of sense.
“We’re seeing hints of Google preparing to debut its own standalone podcast application,” 9to5Google reports. “A snippet of code we spotted in version 8.7 of the Google app reveals an inactive prompt which asks users to ‘Get the Google Podcasts app’.”
The site even has a Google Play Store link to the Google Podcasts app, though it is not live yet. And a logo:
So that’s good stuff. And I’ll be sure to evaluate this app’s functionality against my current podcast app, Pocket Casts, whenever it does ship.
innitrichie
<p>Apparently it's just going to be a shortcut to the podcast integration now included in the Google app on Android. Which, after my testing of this already, means all your podcast downloads get mixed in with your Google Play Music library. So for example, in the artists view in Google Play Music, I see "TWiT", "First Ring Daily", etc. and I hate it. So I went back to Pocket Casts.</p>
Bats
<p>Pocket Casts is okay, as I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. The reason, why only 4, is because the app does not give the user an easy was to access secured podcasts that require a username and password. Rather, they use a "trick."</p><p>I hope the Google Podcast App can support secured podcasts. If so, hasta la vista Pocket Casts. BTW, I am not so crazy over the fact that it was bought out by NPR. I don't trust NPR. </p><p>Of course, a podcast app makes all the sense in the world for Google. </p><p><br></p><p class="ql-indent-1">Me: <em>"Hey Google, play the latest episode of Windows Weekly"</em></p><p class="ql-indent-1">The Assistant: <em>"Playing the latest episode of Windows Weekly on Google Play Podcasts now"</em></p><p><br></p><p>Google should utilize Youtube with these audible podcasts. Rather than download or stream video into an App like Pocket Casts, it will just have the Youtube version accessible right there in the podcast app. </p><p>Also, I thought Paul Thurrott was a Spotify guy and not a Google Play Music Guy.</p><p>Also, I thought Audible only plays it's own audio books? Audible is a tool? If I were to buy and audio book from Google Play, I can listen to it using audible?</p><p><em><span class="ql-cursor"></span></em></p>
wocowboy
Premium Member<p>Pocketcasts is just the gold standard for a podcast app. I use it on my iPhone X. No monthly fees, full audio and video podcast support, never fails to update when one is available, what more could one ask for? </p>