Pocket Casts 7 for Android released in full

This week Pocket Casts 7 was released for all Android users – past beta, past testing, ready to roll. This is easily the biggest update to the app since launch, allowing podcasts to be discovered, organized, and consumed with greater ease than in any past version. This update is available from the Google Play app store right now.

I've been using Pocket Casts for several years, now, and I can't imagine using any other interface. Pocket Casts makes the podcast experience simple and intuitive. I'm able to find new podcasts easily, line podcasts up in a playlist, archive episodes, download, and all that good stuff. It's worth the effort, and especially worth the effort now that it's in full version 7.

The way each podcast is listed has expanded in variety. Users can see episode number, season number, and both "trailer" and "bonus" versions of podcasts, per tagging from creators. Marking "played" and "unplayed" podcasts are joined in this version by "archived" podcasts.

Swiping a podcast leftward will archive said podcast. This sets the episode aside from both your podcast filter and your podcast page. Play status remains unaffected. Archive timing be eternal or relatively short – you can set the time for which any podcast is archived in your account. After your chosen time is complete, the podcast will leave archive status.

Timing also works for downloaded podcasts, saving your future self a lot of grief from having to delete piles of megabytes you wish you'd not downloaded in the first place. If you're the sort of person that thinks a whole lot of podcasts seem like a good idea when you're browsing on the weekend, then by the end of the week you find you're still inundated by a pile of downloaded files you'll never listen to, timing is your friend. Once a certain period of time has passed, the downloaded file will delete itself from your phone.

The latest version of Pocket Casts delivers podcasts with great aplomb. Podcasts can be listened to without subscribing. Subscribing is a single button tap. Users can see what's downloaded for local listening (offline), at last. Users can also see what's about to play next in their Up Next section.

Information in this article comes from the author's personal observations in the Pocket Casts app. Additional information was provided by creator Russell Ivanovic at the official Pocket Casts website.