For years, the Apple Podcasts app supported video, at the least it did technically, however no one used it. Creators ignored it, whereas listeners forgot it. In the meantime, different platforms like YouTube and Spotify quietly constructed empires on video podcasting. Nevertheless, that modifications with the iOS 26.4 replace, or at the least that’s what Apple hopes for.
Video podcasting exploded in reputation lately, with audiences gravitating towards platforms that handled the format effectively (as already talked about above). Regardless of being an iPhone consumer, I personally eat podcasts on YouTube (I briefly paid for the Premium membership as effectively).
iOS 26 on iPhone 17e Apple
Why did it take Apple this lengthy?
Anyway, Apple took be aware — slowly — and iOS 26.4 is the results of lastly deciding to compete. The brand new Podcasts replace reshapes the app from the bottom up. The first enchancment is the convenience with which customers can swap between audio-only and video mode; it now takes one faucet. The button sits proper beneath the playback bar.
Offline viewing is now doable, which, in my view, issues greater than it sounds. No person desires buffering mid-episode, particularly once they know they’re going to be in a poor protection space. Playback velocity adjustment now goes as much as 2x, so you possibly can end these 90-minute podcasts in 45 minutes.
Apple Podcasts has additionally added captions for each video and audio. A freshly constructed Video hub now lives contained in the app, devoted fully to surfacing obtainable video content material. One other standout function is Image-in-Image, which helps you to shrink an episode right into a floating window, releasing up the display for checking the buzzing WhatsApp group, e-mail path, or just scrolling via X.
Apple
Podcasts is now ready for podcasters to hitch in
All these options genuinely make Apple Podcasts a sensible, user-friendly platform, however the actual query the corporate is perhaps avoiding is whether or not it’s too late. The corporate has constructed a strong infrastructure, nevertheless it solely works if podcasters and creators present up.
Many have already settled on YouTube, the place they’re incomes sufficient from advertisements or model offers. If that inertia holds, the Video hub on Apple Podcasts dangers turning into a superbly designed ghost city, which I sincerely hope it doesn’t.
