Not Loving Podcasts in iOS 7
September 21, 2013 9:45 AM Subscribe
Actually, I'm kind of not loving anything in iOS 7. Perhaps it is the shock of the new. Or just realy ugly design. Anyway, that is not my problem. My specific issue is that iTunes is now apparently arranging my podcast feed at random, rather than alphabetically or any other sensible system. Looking at online forums, there doesn't seem to be a way to fix this. Is there? Or, failing that, is there another podcast app that would work better for me?
I'm very happy with Downcast. It lets me sort in a few different ways (such as by a priority that i define), create playlists containing some subset of my casts, and it works.
posted by grudgebgon at 9:56 AM on September 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by grudgebgon at 9:56 AM on September 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
Nthing Downcast.
posted by BrashTech at 10:11 AM on September 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by BrashTech at 10:11 AM on September 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
I've been having the same trouble with podcasts. I *think* it's actually arranging them by most recent and then by alphabet, with the caveat that it started out with zero history and so it looks completely random at the start of the process. But in a few weeks or so it seems like it will have switched over entirely to this new (bad) chronological order...
posted by gerryblog at 10:49 AM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by gerryblog at 10:49 AM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Does Downcast give you an option to store old podcasts? Some podcasts I don't care about keeping archives of, others I do.
posted by bswinburn at 12:36 PM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by bswinburn at 12:36 PM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Downcast is terrifically configurable. Sorting, archiving, when and how to download, how to play back, everything can be customized globally or per-podcast.
posted by Chris4d at 12:47 PM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Chris4d at 12:47 PM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm afraid I wasn't quite clear. I mean storing the podcasts off the phone on your computer.
posted by bswinburn at 12:49 PM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by bswinburn at 12:49 PM on September 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I hate the podcast app too (especially the "error 5" messages I get in my car), but you can reorganize the order they're in. On the "My Podcasts" screen pull it down so you see a hidden option for a list view, then tap "edit," then awkwardly move them around to the order you want.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:33 PM on September 21, 2013
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:33 PM on September 21, 2013
Does Downcast work with iTunes? As in does it take your podcast subscriptions from there or will I have to resubscribe to all my podcasts?
I hate the podcast app and am pissed I can't keep using the music app like I did in IOS6.
posted by kathrynm at 3:05 PM on September 21, 2013
I hate the podcast app and am pissed I can't keep using the music app like I did in IOS6.
posted by kathrynm at 3:05 PM on September 21, 2013
Yeah, I'm underwhelmed by iOS 7, too. (Only 9 icons per page in a folder? Why?)
I gave up on Apple's podcast handling a while back, switched to Downcast and am very happy with it. No idea about whether you can offload to your computer or not with it.
posted by JaneL at 12:01 AM on September 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
I gave up on Apple's podcast handling a while back, switched to Downcast and am very happy with it. No idea about whether you can offload to your computer or not with it.
posted by JaneL at 12:01 AM on September 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
If specific podcasts or podcast episodes are important to you, it's probably best to subscribe in iTunes on your computer. Then you can download and save them as a separate exercise from listening to them on your iphone or ipod.
posted by zadcat at 7:26 AM on September 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by zadcat at 7:26 AM on September 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
I know this goes against the pro-downcast sentiment over here, but get pocketcast! It is less customizable than downcast but it is attractive, user-friendly and fuss free.
posted by dinosaurprincess at 10:36 PM on September 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by dinosaurprincess at 10:36 PM on September 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm afraid I wasn't quite clear. I mean storing the podcasts off the phone on your computer.
Sort of. You can export the podcasts in Downcast to your computer through iTunes, see here.
You can also sync the podcasts with iCloud, but that's not the same as archiving.
posted by bluefly at 7:36 AM on September 23, 2013
Sort of. You can export the podcasts in Downcast to your computer through iTunes, see here.
You can also sync the podcasts with iCloud, but that's not the same as archiving.
posted by bluefly at 7:36 AM on September 23, 2013
Does Downcast work with iTunes? As in does it take your podcast subscriptions from there or will I have to resubscribe to all my podcasts?
You'll have to resubscribe. But, you can export the OPML file from iTunes and import it into any other podcast app you use (at least Pocketcast and Downcast will import it), so you don't have to do it one-by-one.
But, it doesn't sync to iTunes in the same way the Apple Podcasts app does. I'm not sure any non-Apple app does?
posted by bluefly at 7:39 AM on September 23, 2013
You'll have to resubscribe. But, you can export the OPML file from iTunes and import it into any other podcast app you use (at least Pocketcast and Downcast will import it), so you don't have to do it one-by-one.
But, it doesn't sync to iTunes in the same way the Apple Podcasts app does. I'm not sure any non-Apple app does?
posted by bluefly at 7:39 AM on September 23, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by zadcat at 9:53 AM on September 21, 2013 [6 favorites]