Google has announced that it has launched a new podcast app for Android called Google Podcasts. The Google Podcasts app utilizes artificial intelligence to personalized recommendations based on the listening habits of the user.
Prior to the launch of the Google Podcasts app, Android users would have had to use third-party apps or listen to podcasts through Google Play Music. By providing a dedicated app for just podcasts, it will improve the listening and discovery experience for podcast fans.
Theres still tons of room for growth when it comes to podcast listening, said Google product manager Zack Reneau-Wedeen via The Verge. And Reneau-Wedeen believes that the Google Podcasts app could as much as double worldwide listenership of podcasts overall.
The Google Podcasts app allows you to search for podcasts and download them to your device so you can play it without having to worry about consuming substantial amounts of mobile data. There are over 2 million podcasts already available in the app, including all of the most popular ones.
There is a section called For You, which highlights the most recent episodes of podcasts that you subscribe to. Plus this section will highlight episodes that you have not finished yet along with a list of the downloaded ones. And there is a section that shows the most trending podcasts and episodes so you can stay up-to-date with the best content.
Google Podcasts
Another useful feature is Google Assistant integration. This feature allows you to search for podcasts and play the ones of your choice using your voice.
The podcasts you listen to will sync across all of Googles products. So you can listen to it with your Android device while driving to and from work. And then you can resume where you left off from your Google Home smart speaker device when you reach home.
Google plans to add several other features to the Podcasts app in the near future such as closed captions. And Google will build real-time live transcriptions in various languages into the Podcasts app as well. These features will be powered by Googles in-house artificial intelligence technology.
The podcast feature in Google Play Music will remain the same as of now. However, Google plans to focus on continuously improving the podcast experience in the dedicated Podcasts app.
It is unknown whether Google will launch an iOS version of the Podcasts app anytime soon.
