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Pocket Casts for iOS adds Siri Shortcuts, syncing, improved discovery, more

On the heels of an update to Castro Podcasts yesterday, third-party podcasts app Pocket Casts has today received a major update to version 7.0. The update includes support for Siri Shortcuts, discovery improvements, syncing support, and much more.

The update to Pocket Casts comes after it was acquired in May by podcast publishers including NPR, WNYC Studios, and WBEZ / This American Life. The goal of today’s update, the company says, is to “deliver a more premium experience” and to make “podcast listening easier than ever before.”

For iOS, today’s update brings Siri Shortcuts integration. This means you can now use Siri to play your favorite podcasts through Pocket Casts, which helps bridge the gap between it and Appe’s own first-party Podcasts app.

Additionally, the update includes improvements to podcast discovery. Pocket Casts touts that “new human and algorithmic curation” makes for more accurate recommendations. You can also now play podcasts without subscribing, as well as search within specific podcast series to find individual episodes.

Other features and improvements include cross-platform syncing, filters, enhanced Apple Watch support, listening history, playback effects, and more. Here’s the full change log for today’s Pocket Casts update:

  • Siri Shortcuts Integration – Use Apple’s smart assistant to launch your favorite shows
  • Improved Discovery – New human and algorithmic curation now delivers great recommendations on every platform and in every territory
  • Episode Search – Search within any podcast series to find a specific episode
  • Play Without Subscribing – Browse podcasts and play episodes without the need to subscribe to the show
  • Up Next Syncing – Lists and show progress sync seamlessly across every platform
  • Filters – More powerful tools to organize your favorite shows and create playlists
  • New Web Player – Modern, streamlined design and powerful new features
  • Dozens of Quality of Life Improvements – New archiving features, playback effects while streaming, enhanced Apple Watch support, listening history and much more

Pocket Casts is available on the App Store for $3.99. Read our full roundup of the best podcast players for iOS right here.


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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is an editor for the entire 9to5 network and covers the latest Apple news for 9to5Mac.

Tips, questions, typos to chance@9to5mac.com