Podcasts – the other thing broken in iOS6
I am still amazed that Apple has acknowledged their maps are a little half-baked, going so far as to promote other companies’ mapping apps, and yet they don’t appear to have prepared a Google maps fallback position for exactly this fairly predictable situation. All it would take is a minor update and a new switch in the settings to revert to Google maps for those who are unhappy with the new system (especially third party developers whose embedded iOS map controls now suck for reasons utterly out of their control). 90% of people would probably happily use Apple’s new maps, and those who hate it could simply switch back (for up to 12 months), instead of writing innumerable articles debating just how much Apple has screwed up with this launch.
But there’s another thing you don’t hear as much about, which affects me a whole lot more, and that is their new dumbass podcasts app. Until iOS6 I used to subscribe to podcasts in iTunes, and then a smart playlist synced to my iPhone would hold the 30 or so most recently added episodes of anything. When I wanted to listen to podcasts I simply played from this list, which made it easy to skip forwards and back to recent episodes, because they would form a stable and orderly queue. Simple, effective, reliable.
But now with iOS6 Apple has deliberately fucked up this option by disappearing podcasts from playlists in its music player– even though iTunes still supports podcasts in playlists, and, as I mentioned above, it’s a really useful way to handle podcasts. Instead I’m now supposed to use their moronic podcasts app, which does not recognize playlists, does not filter by podcast type (eg audio or video), crashes a lot, screws up background playback (to the point that I even had podcasts playing while on the phone recently), and sometimes forgets that you were in the middle of listening to something and throws back to the music player (this happens a lot when I use it in the car via Bluetooth, previously the most pleasant and easy way to listen to podcasts has become the most frustrating).
Just like Maps, it’s a totally half-assed ‘improvement’.
Just like Maps, they did not have to completely kill the old functionality before introducing the new.*
Unlike Maps, there’s no excuse for the new Podcasts app to be so flakey, as a media player is a cakewalk compared to a comprehensive mapping solution.
Make before break, FFS.
* UPDATE: My brother helpfully points out in the comments that there’s a simple fix to get the old functionality back, and that is to delete the Podcasts app! Now if only we could do the same with Maps….
It sucketh indeed – about as nice as their o-mazing Reminders app. But unlike Maps, there is an easy fix. Just remove the Podcasts app from your phone, then restart the Music app. Voila – podcasts are back! Or alternatively, try out Pocket Casts – my preferred on-phone podcast management app.
Best tip ever, thanks!
Brothers are awesome :)