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It's time to stop using Apple's Podcasts app. Yeah, it's nice that it comes pre-loaded on your iPhone—but so does Apple Maps, and if you use that you'll probably end up driving into a river. If you're exploring the weird, wide, wonderful world of Internet audio, you need something better.
There are lots of better somethings, no matter what platform you use. But a brand-new update to Pocket Casts makes it hands-down the best iPhone podcasts app, not to mention the best overall service for people who want to podcast from all manner of different devices. The new version for iOS, Pocket Casts 6.0, brings the app—which was great for a long time, and has kind of languished the last couple of years—into full-fledged modernity. It's now really easy to find new podcasts to listen to, sort through the ones you already have, and more. Pocket Casts keeps lists of episodes you've already started, ones you've downloaded but not listened to (which is handy for clearing space on your phone), and more.
Version 6.0 borrows a few great features from other podcast apps, like automatic silence-trimming and voice-boosting. It has all the fiddly bits podcastheads will love, like chapter markers, show notes, a running queue for uninterrupted listening, and support for 3D Touch. For everyone else, it's just a super-simple grid of show icons. There are still a couple of small things missing, like Overcast's awesome ability to download a single episode without subscribing to an entire show, but Pocket Casts has just about everything you could want.
The app costs $6 in the App Store, but it's worth every penny. It looks great on iPhone and iPad, it's really fast, and the company behind it swears the next update won't take so long. You can sync and listen to your podcasts on Android and the web, too, and even Windows Phone in case you work for Microsoft. It's time you took off the iTunes training wheels and found out what a real podcasting app looks like. Oh, and pro tip: turn on the dark theme. It's great.
