If Apple had to be rated for creating the worst application, what would it be? Do you have any special name in mind? Maybe under the Podcasts category, hmmm? Okay, I’ll help you out here. Just read on…

Why Apple Podcasts App Sucks More Than Anything?

Apple’s Podcasts application surfaced in June 2012. Since then, it hasn’t seen major updates. Even if the updates were of major nature to you, at least a lot of people (reportedly) didn’t see how those updates attributed to interface, additional features, accessibility and etc.

To start off, Apple incorporated Podcasts application in its Music app. You just tap the Music icon, go all the way to the Podcasts icon and viola, you are there. If Podcasts were meant to be under the same roof, Apple sure didn’t work a lot on making it look any better.

Your car’s audio controls won’t respond well to Apple Podcasts. At least my car hates it. Then there is Podcasts Store feature. You see a long horizontal bar for scrolling. Yes, you can scroll but guys ‘n girls with stubby fingers will keep having their fingers get in the way.

The real issue is that the Podcasts section of the Apple Podcasts sucks. So you are in the middle of a genuinely interesting Podcast but you don’t see the progress bar. It goes on; you never know how far you are into listening the Podcast. You don’t even know if the Podcast is about to end.

There is a Placard for you to tap. Go head, tap it. You will eventually see a cool animation of Cassette Wheels spinning around. Upon close inspection, you will notice a small progress meter below. However it is of no use because it is the tiny version of “small”.  Apple did introduce other buttons in Podcasts app, such as;

• Playback Speed

• Sleep Timer

• Pause

• Share

These buttons are laid out on a dark interface – so much so that it is kind of hard to make out what their titles are saying.  It is hard to read. Now another big issue with Podcasts is that once you are out, you are out. Ever heard the expression: “Gone with the wind”?

Yeah, it seems that when you leave a Podcast, it will forget your last known progress. You have left a Podcast at your favorite part. The next day when you come back, you are expecting a “Resume Podcast” option. Where is it? Please let me know if you see it?

Some people say that their Podcasts start at where they left. Yes, hitting the Play button does that. However, if you have abandoned those Podcasts for more than 48 hours, it resets. There are over 4,000 pissed off Apple Podcasts users who think along the same lines as I do.

They hate Podcasts. Some of them even gave a 1.5 Star rating to the application. But the important thing is if there is anyone at Apple who is paying attention? 

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 5th, 2013 at 11:41 PM and is filed under Apple, National News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.