This article has been republished here with prior permission of MakeUseOf.
By: Nancy Messieh
There’s no denying it: Google’s new Android podcast app is barebones. You can search for and subscribe to podcasts, listen to podcasts, and get recommendations. But you can’t create playlists or filters, you can’t rate or review podcasts, and it doesn’t even provide podcast notifications.
But it’s still worth giving a chance! Especially if you’re deeply embedded in Google’s gadget ecosystem.
Let’s say you’re heading home and you’re listening to a riveting episode of your favorite podcast. You also happen to be the proud owner of a Google Home (or any other Google Assistant-enabled device). When you arrive at home, Google Podcasts can seamlessly shift playback between devices! All you need is the following voice command:
“OK Google, continue playing [podcast name].”
Your Google Home device should recognize your voice and begin playing your podcast exactly where you left off.
The feature should also work with any Google Assistant-enabled device, including iPhones with the Google Assistant app installed.
Returning playback to the podcast app on your phone isn’t as simple, though. The app unfortunately doesn’t appear to recognize that you’ve continued listening elsewhere, so the feature isn’t perfect yet. But Google says the feature will eventually be integrated into more devices.
Aside from continuous listening, the Google Podcast app is also big on AI features. It rolled out with smart recommendations that improve as you use the app, and there are reportedly more AI features on the way. Such features include AI translations and automatic transcriptions.
If you’re still not sold on Google Podcasts, there are plenty other popular podcast apps already available for Android users.
Explore more about: Google Assistant, Google Home, Podcasts.
