Google kills apps and services all the time, and itsdedicated Podcasts appis next on the block, with podcasts being moved into the YouTube Music app. Many people are upset by the news, but I’m in the minority who think this transition is worth it to have proper podcast integration in YouTube Music.
I listen to a lot of podcasts on my iPad. I know this is an Android site, but let’s move on. The problem with Google Podcasts is that it isn’t optimized for iPads, so it runs in a tiny box in the middle of the screen as if you have a small iPhone running on it. YouTube Music, on the other hand, spans across the full screen and supports portrait and landscape. This goes to show that Google never bothered polishing Google Podcasts across all the platforms it’s running on, which is a bad sign for a multi-billion dollar business.
That’s my only real gripe with the Google Podcasts app itself, but that isn’t the only reason I’m happy to move to YouTube.
For me, the main advantage of having podcasts in YouTube Music is the integration with YouTube itself. Some podcasts I listen to, like the Wan Show from LTT, are video-only and don’t get released on regular podcast apps. Now that YouTube Music has podcasts, I can watch the Wan Show in the standard YouTube app and then switch to an audio-only mode in YouTube Music, which works with Google Maps driving mode and Android Auto.
I used to be a Spotify user, and while I’m happy with my switch to YouTube Premium, there are things I miss. Podcast integration was definitely one of the major features I missed most. Some people prefer to keep music and podcasts separated; that’s one of the most common complaints I’ve seen about Google’s decision to merge these services. I feel the opposite.
My podcast listening took a major hit after switching from Spotify because I always forget to open the Podcasts app and look for episodes. The only exceptions to this were the Wan Show and Waveform, both of which exist in video forms. Most of the media-focused time I spend on my tablet and phone is in YouTube or YouTube Music, so those podcasts would still surface somewhere I would see. Other shows fell off my radar, and I now have dozens of episodes from some of my favorite podcasts that I missed. Once they’re moved over to YouTube Music, either by the creator or via RSS, I look forward to working through the backlog.
I know that’s a niche problem, and most users have no issue checking a separate app for podcasts, but I’m not wired that way, and prefer to have everything in once place.
While I’m happy overall, that doesn’t mean everything is perfect here in YouTube land. RSS integration and marking episodes as played, two vitally important features in any podcast app, are missing. Google has promised that these features will arrive before the shutdown of Google Podcasts, but that isn’t good enough. Many users are still left with the bitter taste of disappointment with how Google handled the transition from Google Play Music, and there’s no guarantee that Google won’t mess this up the same way. Only time will tell if this was the right move for Google and most users, but at least I’m happy with the trajectory we see right now.
