# Google Podcasts — Play your favorite podcasts

> Podcast player with discovery, personalized recommendations, and cross-device listening. (iPhone/iPad app by Google LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-podcasts/id1398000105 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Google LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/281956209)
- Category: Entertainment, Education
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.70/5 from 15,004 App Store ratings · 55 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 14.0 · 58 MB
- Languages: British English, Afrikaans, Arabic, Armenian, Bangla, Bulgarian, Burmese, Khmer, Catalan, Croatian and 41 more
- Released: 2020-03-25
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-podcasts/id1398000105/reviews.md

## What is Google Podcasts?

With Google Podcasts, you can play the latest episodes from your favorite shows, explore podcast recommendations just for you, and manage your listening activity.

Discover podcasts that you'll love
• Subscribe and listen to all your favorite podcasts.
• Explore show and episode recommendations just for you.
• Browse popular and trending shows in comedy, news, history, music, business, TV & film, education, health & fitness, technology, arts, science, sports and more.

Customize your listening experience
• Listen at faster playback speeds or skip over silences.
• Queue up episodes for a seamless listening experience.
• Easily keep track of your listening history, downloads and subscriptions.

Listen wherever you are
• Listen on multiple devices – phone, laptop, smart speaker – without losing your place.
• Stream episodes for instant playback or auto-download episodes to listen offline and on the go.
• Discover podcasts using Google Search and Google Assistant.

## Key features

- Subscribe to favorite podcasts
- Personalized show recommendations
- Browse trending and popular shows
- Adjust playback speed and skip silences
- Queue episodes
- Listen across multiple devices
- Offline listening via auto-download

## What do users think of Google Podcasts?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 🚀 Great cross-device sync
- 👍 Clean and simple UI
- 💡 Dedicated mark as (un)played
- 🚀 True episode downloads

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🐛 Playback issues and timeline jumps
- 🐛 Inconsistent episode tracking
- 🐛 Buggy background playback

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Podcast downloads failing to load
- App closing unexpectedly
- Inconsistent episode progress tracking
- Compatibility issues with Google Home

**Most requested features**

- Swipe features to mark episodes
- Organize episodes by show
- Personalized podcast recommendations
- Timestamp bookmarks and chapter support

## Recent user reviews (10 of 55)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-podcasts/id1398000105/reviews.md

### 2/5 — Gets worse with each update

*2023-10-12*

In terms of how it’s set up, I really enjoy the idea of the queue, especially if you subscribe to a lot of podcasts. Browsing for new podcasts is somewhat difficult, I think Apple has a better setup there. The app tends to crash when launching at times, and goes through periods where most the podcasts have playback errors. I think overall, it remains the best podcast service I’ve used. However, it is very surprising that’s it’s not compatible with google nest hub and will instead display a blank black screen.

Edit: now podcast won’t download, and the app crashes when you try to a show page for a podcast

### 4/5 — Google Podcasts

*2023-08-21*

Although still lacking in swipe features (mark as played/add to queue) and it is still a 3 step process to mark episodes as played, instead of being able to select all as played or at least be able to select multiple episodes at a time. It is still the only app that truly downloads episodes without needing internet to start playing. With some over hauling this app could and should be the best out there.

### 5/5 — Google Podcasts

*2023-07-04*

Google Podcasts provide app users with everything they seek and more, all access, you can listen to Ted Talks on your device via phone or computer or tablet speaker mode, wired headphones, bluetooth car audio, sluryooth external device speaker mode, Google apps are very connected, very secure for login, and reliable, they offer free support and take feedback very seriously, Google Podcasts coming in hot🔥Impaulsive, Call Her Daddy, etc Podcast access via Google coming 🔜 (mailchimp, proton etc take a seat in the back). As for Microsoft might want to stick to tech podcasts for now (MS Azure, MS Defender, Cloud storage, and all the ROI Corporate career learning that tech folks need to hear).

### 1/5 — Barely Even Functional

*2023-04-14*

It’s as if google is trying to make this app worse and worse so we will all thank them when they eventually discontinue this app and put us out of our misery of having to use it. The app crashes multiple times per podcast, many times it doesn’t keep track of where you left off, and there are many times an episode of a podcast just fails to load. I end up going to Apple Podcasts multiple times a week just to finish an episode. The only logical conclusion is that google is trying to discontinue this app and get out of podcasts. I would already leave this app behind if it wasn’t for the layout or more customizable playback speeds than other apps.

### 4/5 — Google Podcasts

*2023-03-27*

Very good just not great, app can be a bit buggy with some show uploads showing up then going away sometimes until the next day. Still waiting for swipe features or better ease of use with a dedicated mark as (un)played. But the biggest seller is true episode downloads, with Apple Podcasts, which is my general go-to, the episodes are marked as downloaded but still require wifi to to initiate play. This app is very clean and simple, but still find myself switching back and forth time to time.

### 2/5 — Needs lots of bug fixes

*2023-02-14, version 2.0.22*

New review: Reinstalling the app again has resolved the issues with the crashing. There are two main issues now that need to be resolved

1. Listening location of an episode within the app and syncing to other devices is erratic.

2. Most of my Completed episodes are not showing as completed in the app. They show up fine in the web interface.

Original review: I’ve been using 3rd party apps on the iPhone since before the App Store even existed. This is the worst app I’ve ever used. I mean you have ONE JOB! To simply play audio files. You’d think we’re trying to fly to the moon. The app constantly crashes and forgets locations. On occasion I have had to attempt to start a podcast up to 5 times. I want to use it because the layout is great and like having it tied to my Google account so I can listen through the web and keep things synced. Please fix the app!!!!

### 3/5 — Keeps getting cleared from RAM

*2023-02-12, version 2.0.21*

This is my favorite podcast app, but it doesn’t seem to keep itself in RAM very well. If you don’t keep the app open for several minutes after starting a podcast, iOS will clear it from memory and stop playback. If you lock your phone or switch to another app too soon, your podcast will suddenly stop in less than 30 seconds. The solution is to leave your screen on with the app open for a minute or two after pressing play.

Please patch this bug!

### 3/5 — It’s a start

*2023-02-09, version 2.0.21*

In terms of how it’s set up, I really enjoy the idea of the queue, especially if you subscribe to a lot of podcasts. Browsing for new podcasts is somewhat difficult, I think Apple has a better setup there. The app tends to crash when launching at times, and goes through periods where most the podcasts have playback errors. I think overall, it remains the best podcast service I’ve used. However, it is very surprising that’s it’s not compatible with google nest hub and will instead display a blank black screen

### 2/5 — iOS version has been very unreliable

*2023-02-05, version 2.0.21*

I used Google podcasts on my s21 for years without any issues before switching to an iPhone. I've been using this app for a month now and it's very frustrating- randomly shuts off, buggy when pairing with Google home (stops tracking playtime intermittently, so if I try to disconnect from speakers to play on my phone it will not resume playing at the same point of the podcast), inconsistently displays on the home screen, and does not linger in the "dynamic island." Hope they address these issues in the next update.

### 3/5 — Great app design and function but frequent crashes

*2023-02-03, version 2.0.21*

Everything about the search and find functionality of the app is great. It's very easy to find and create a queue of podcasts, as well as downloaded them. 

Unfortunately, at least on iPhones, the app frequently crashes in the background. I haven't been able to figure out when or if there's a pattern to it. Generally I just have to keep reopening the app and trying again until it stably remains open.

## Frequently asked questions about Google Podcasts

### What is Google Podcasts?

Google Podcasts is an application that allows you to discover, subscribe to, and play episodes from your favorite podcasts. It offers personalized recommendations based on your listening habits and allows you to manage your subscriptions and listening history.

### How can I customize my listening experience?

You can customize your listening experience by adjusting playback speeds, choosing to listen faster or skip over silences. The app also allows you to queue up episodes for a seamless flow and easily track your listening history, downloads, and subscriptions.

### Is Google Podcasts free to use?

Yes, Google Podcasts is a free application. There are no subscription fees or in-app purchases required to use its core features for discovering and listening to podcasts.

### Can I listen to podcasts offline with Google Podcasts?

Yes, you can listen to podcasts offline. The app allows you to auto-download episodes, so you can listen on the go without an internet connection. You can also stream episodes for instant playback when you have connectivity.

### On which devices can I use Google Podcasts?

You can listen to podcasts on multiple devices, including your phone, laptop, and smart speaker. Your listening progress is synced across devices, so you can pick up where you left off regardless of the device you are using.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.0.32 — 2024-04-18

This release includes bug fixes and performance improvements.

### 2.0.31 — 2024-04-04

This release includes bug fixes and performance improvements.

### 2.0.30 — 2024-02-28

This release includes bug fixes and performance improvements.

### 2.0.29 — 2024-01-24

This release includes bug fixes and performance improvements.

### 2.0.28 — 2023-11-21

This release includes bug fixes and performance improvements.

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## More apps by Google LLC

- [Google](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google/id284815942)
- [Google Earth](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-earth/id293622097)
- [Google Voice](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-voice/id318698524)
- [Google Authenticator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-authenticator/id388497605)
- [Google Play Books & Audiobooks](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-play-books-and-audiobooks/id400989007)
- [Google Translate](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-translate/id414706506)

All apps by Google LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/281956209

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*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 2026-06-10.*