# Apple Podcasts — user reviews > 2,937 indexed App Store user reviews of Apple Podcasts by Apple, rated 4.90/5 from 2,073,140 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/apple-podcasts/id525463029/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/apple-podcasts/id525463029.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 1,894,968 · 4★ 122,282 · 3★ 27,524 · 2★ 8,911 · 1★ 19,455 ## What do users think of Apple Podcasts? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🚀 Seamless integration with Apple ecosystem - 🎨 Sleek and modern user interface - 💯 Vast library of podcast content - 🔍 Helpful podcast discovery features - 🗓️ Convenient episode management **Cons** - 🐛 Buggy and unreliable playback - 🤯 Confusing and unintuitive navigation - 🔀 Inconsistent episode ordering and playlist management - 🔋 High data and battery consumption - 🗑️ Difficulty removing/deleting unwanted episodes **Commonly reported bugs** - Frequent crashes and app freezes - Inconsistent episode downloads and sync issues - Randomly playing incorrect or outdated episodes - Continuous playback setting changing on its own - Deleted episodes reappearing in the library **Most requested features** - Add option to sort episodes by oldest first - Improve playlist and queue management features - Introduce a dedicated sleep timer function - Allow users to manually mark episodes as played/unplayed - Enhance integration with Siri and Apple Watch ## Newest reviews (17 of 2,937) ### 2/5 — Can’t ever make it through *2026-08-25, version 4.5* This app closes out on my phone all the time. I have to delete it and re-download more often than I would like to admit. I might stop using Apple because of this! ### 4/5 — Needs to be more engaging *2026-08-23, version 4.5* I love Apple Podcasts. I’ve been using it for years, but I think it needs to be more engaging. With Spotify there is a comments section so you’re able to see other people’s thoughts, and it’s great to see different perceptions. Can we bring that over here? ### 4/5 — Great but can be improved. *2026-08-22, version 4.5* Great app, but I’d love two improvements: let us create custom playlists/folders for individual episodes from different podcasts and please add the short episode description in the ‘Latest Episodes’ tab instead of needing to tap into the episode to see. ### 4/5 — LISTEN *2026-08-22, version 4.5* This app means I Warrior cat for free. I’m talking book one all the way to book 3. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 ### 2/5 — Loses placement *2026-08-21, version 4.5* App constantly loses placement when paused and will restart at the end or mark as fully played which is just incorrect. Require ability to choose download audio only where video options are available. ### 1/5 — Downloaded Podcasts Disappear! *2026-08-21, version 4.5* I’ve had to stop using Apple Podcasts. I’m the sort of person who downloads lots of podcasts & then listen to them at my leisure. For some bizarre reason, Apple Podcasts randomly delete’s downloaded podcasts. This has been going on for quite a while now & there are numerous reports of it all over the internet. This has been going on for years & Apple seem incapable of fixing the issue. ### 1/5 — Still doesn’t download while on WiFi. *2026-08-21, version 4.5* Frustrating to see at even while the app is open while connected all night on WiFi, the app waits until you’re in the car to download the new episode on your cellular data. For a business that built its user base on attention to detail, this is a frustrating lack of interest in everyone else who doesn’t have an unlimited cellphone data plan. ### 1/5 — Video podcasts broke the app *2026-08-21, version 4.5* Podcasts with a video option keep restarting randomly, even if listening on audio only mode. Doesn’t happen on audio podcasts. ### 1/5 — Sucks at the one thing a podcast app exists for *2026-08-21, version 4.5* The one thing I want out of a podcast app is for it to play from one episode to the next of the show I’m listening to seamlessly. Seems like a pretty simple ask, but with “up next,” which seemingly can’t be disabled, it never happens automatically in Apple Podcasts. I don’t want to have to program a whole playlist for my episodes of one show to play in order. Nothing else about this app matters when this godforsaken feature is unavoidable. Back to Spotify I go—even slop-filled Spotify is better than this. ### 2/5 — Terribly User Unfriendly *2026-08-20, version 4.5* Why is this app so annoying to navigate? Please get a grip. Whoever works in the UX department needs to be fist fought. ### 2/5 — Downloaded episodes not playing without internet connection *2026-08-20, version 4.5* Really annoying quirk where downloaded episodes aren’t playing when offline, tried different shows and video and non video episodes ### 1/5 — Good choices, app sucks *2026-08-20, version 4.5* Genuinely one of the worst apps I have ever used, can’t listen to anything as the podcast keeps skipping out and no audio but STILL runs the track so I lose my spot completely and forget where I was and it will go with no audio for extremely long times so annoying and dumb ### 1/5 — pls Dont pro create *2026-08-20, version 4.5* Instead go get yourselves some super deadly cancer and dont fight it :) ### 1/5 — Unclear and unwarranted shows on my home page. *2026-08-20, version 4.5* On my home screen of app, simply i want the latest episode I subscribe. Make it simple in home page, just the podcast I subscribe. No more nonsense. ### 2/5 — Episodes always start over *2026-08-19, version 4.5* If I pause an episode, go back later to keep listening it doesn’t save any progress and I have to find my spot again every time - very annoying ### 1/5 — Apple fails again! *2026-08-19, version 4.5* Painful to look at UI? Difficult to navigate UI? Yep. Continuous Playback On? Yes. Continuous Playback actually playing back? No! Video on an audio format, why?!? Well done Apple, well done. You’re supposed to make things work better when update not worse, yet you always choose worse. Why? And what is this nonsense on the lock screen where it changes from the episode title to random garbage making me question if the app just decided to start a new episode? And what is this ridiculous delay I keep getting when I start an episode? Also 5 star reviews by bots or paid shills are the least helpful so stop acting like you’ve fooled us! ### 1/5 — no memory *2026-08-18, version 4.5* it doesn’t track what l’m listening, every time l have to go through programs and episodes ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Keeps deleting my queue *2026-08-25, version 4.5* Keeps deleting my queue ### 1/5 — Good aside the chapters *2026-08-25, version 4.5* Please turn off the ai chapters. They’re pointless, annoying, and give spoilers to those listening to audio dramas. ### 1/5 — Bad should not exist *2026-08-25, version 4.5* You made my life hard because of this 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 ### 1/5 — Ruined by videos *2026-08-24, version 4.5* Ever since videos were introduced the app has been a mess. Podcasts randomly stop playing and can’t be restarted. If skipping back through ads it loses its place and stops working. Downloaded episodes no longer play when offline. A joke, I’m moving to Spotify ### 1/5 — Frustrated using podcast *2026-08-23, version 4.5* Do people like me experiencing frustration and confusion using Apple podcast ? I don’t often using it and use YouTube music more . However my sons like story telling programs on podcast so we use podcast every night before sleep. However navigating on podcast is really frustrating, you would never find the things looking for and very difficult to navigate back to where we started . And after try few times you would wonder what’s the logic inside the develop teams mind ? The team smart enough to create a good and popular app platform but not able to make it simple to use ……. Still frustrating ### 1/5 — Flawed, Apple’s middle finger to its customers *2026-08-22, version 4.5* I seriously believe Apple has kept this app so bad as a giant middle finger to everyone it’s trapped in its walled garden. They must put the employees on a corrective action plan that they’re about to fire to work in this division. Never syncs with Apple Watch. Terrible design. What else can I say. Apple should just get out of the podcast game it invented because it doesn’t deserve to keep playing. ### 1/5 — Ads trash *2026-08-22, version 4.5* Disgusting amount of forced ads ### 1/5 — Case file *2026-08-22, version 4.5* Casey Snap? Host ### 1/5 — Buggy beyond belief *2026-08-21, version 4.5* For the past few months this app has been unusable. For one, I can’t get “Recent Episodes” to load, period. Not once in months. Everything else glitches or takes a minute plus to load on an otherwise functional iPhone. And in the meantime, I have to listen to a million injected ads from the dairy cartel or the provincial gambling monopoly. I don’t know why the Podcasts app would be left for dead when podcasts are still popular. Anyway, I’ve been switching over to Spotify. ### 1/5 — Unusable *2026-08-21, version 4.5* This is so buggy it’s unusable. If I pause an episode at any point, playing it again is off the table. Other episodes will play when i click on one etc. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Good *2026-08-23, version 4.5* Noice ### 5/5 — This needs to work *2026-08-20, version 4.5* I changed my username last week but it won’t update-nuziii4life ### 5/5 — The most satisfying podcast app I have had *2026-08-20, version 4.5* Apple Podcasts is really fulfilling! I am the kind of person who absolutely loves listening to new things and just learning. Apple podcast has such a big wide rang of different podcasts. And is definitely kid friendly. It’s so useful for classrooms when having a brain break when on the way to school listening to a 30 min podcast certainly sets the day. Even for Adults theres true crime, romance, comedy and sooooo many more. I love it cause you can create your own playlist for just your you time. Although it has adds at the start or maybe the end or even in the middle of the podcast it’s definitely worth waiting for. It’s even for free and the best sound track there is. I really hope you enjoy using this app to make your day even better!! ### 5/5 — Sugerencia *2026-08-18, version 4.5* Me encanta escuchar podcast, a veces desde el Apple TV. Sería súper que se pudiera ver la transcripción como en la aplicación del teléfono o la grabación del podcast en formato video ### 5/5 — Commentary Magazine *2026-08-16, version 4.5* Wow. Nice to hear from intelligent journalists for a change. I thoroughly enjoy their almost daily reports. ### 5/5 — Podcasts *2026-08-14, version 4.5* Very good services, sometimes can be a little glitchy when listening with random cut-outs, although that is rare and probably Not very affiliated with the app itself. Overall very good and with lots of great podcasts. ### 5/5 — Podcast *2026-08-13, version 4.5* When I listen to a podcast the story is forwarded so I am unable to hear what the person is saying & what the story is about. Please fix it so I can listen to the podcasts. ### 5/5 — Queen of chaos *2026-08-08, version 4.5* It really work frl frl ### 5/5 — 😀😀😀 *2026-08-04, version 4.5* Rizzzzzz this is so good ### 5/5 — Relationships *2026-08-04, version 4.5* Great info to try and communicate with a lover. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*