Skip to main content

Apple outlines new Podcasts features including transcript search, category changes, more

Apple quickly mentioned some improvements to Podcasts on stage at WWDC yesterday. Now, the company has outlined some additional improvements for Podcasts in iOS 13 in an email to creators and via its developer website.

In an email to Podcast Providers this afternoon, Apple outlined enhancements coming to Podcasts search, which it also mentioned on stage yesterday. For instance, when a user searches in Podcasts, the search will also look for the term in transcripts.

Apple says that the transcript search will come to “selected top shows” at first, and expand as time progresses. The company also says that show and episode pages will display images of hosts and guests with Podcasts in iOS 13:

Apple Podcasts will allow listeners to discover shows based on audio transcripts, topics, and people. Moreover, show and episode pages will display images of hosts and guests.

These features will first be available for selected top shows in English; more shows will be added later this year. Sign in to Podcasts Connect, if needed, to review the latest Terms of Service in order for your show to be eligible.

Apple also says that later this summer, it is adding new top-level categories for things such as Fiction, History, and True Crime. Furthermore, some categories will be renamed, while Apple will also add “dozens” of new subcategories, and discontinue some lesser-used subcategories:

New categories. We’ll be introducing new top-level categories such as Fiction, History, and True Crime. Additionally, dozens of new subcategories will be available. For example, Fiction > Drama.

Renamed categories. For clarity, some categories will be renamed. When possible, shows will be mapped to the updated category or subcategory value upon launch. For example, Sports & Recreation > Outdoor will become Sports > Wilderness.

Discontinued subcategories. Some subcategories will be discontinued. Shows with a subcategory that will no longer be available will still retain its top-level category. For example, Sports & Recreation > Professional will be displayed as Sports until a new subcategory value is added to the RSS feed.

More information about the changes coming to Podcasts this year can be found here.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

MacStadium Private Cloud for Mac
You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:

Comments

Author

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