# Podcast Alarm: Wake & Listen — Your morning podcast player

> Alarm clock that plays podcasts instead of traditional tones. (iPhone/iPad app by Jonathan Wilson.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/podcast-alarm-wake-and-listen/id1441890371 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Jonathan Wilson](https://appshunter.io/developer/1077840208)
- Category: News, Utilities
- Price: $2.99
- Rating: 3.30/5 from 82 App Store ratings · 53 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 26.1 · 5 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2019-09-30
- Data updated: 2026-09-13
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/podcast-alarm-wake-and-listen/id1441890371/reviews.md

## What is Podcast Alarm?

Wake up to something worth listening to.

Podcast Alarm replaces your boring alarm tone with the podcast you love. Set an alarm, pick a podcast or build a queue of episodes, and wake up to real content instead of a blaring buzzer.

How it works

Set your alarm time and choose what plays — a specific podcast (always the latest episode) or the next episode in your queue. When the alarm fires, your podcast starts playing. If you're offline, episodes are pre-downloaded so playback is instant.

Features

• Podcast alarm — wake up to your favourite podcast, any day, any time
• Skip intro — automatically skip the first 15–120 seconds of every episode
• Autoplay queue — line up episodes and they play back-to-back across alarm days
• Search thousands of podcasts by name, topic, or host
• Discover new shows through curated collections
• Variable playback speed from 0.5x to 2.0x
• Pre-download episodes so your alarm works offline
• Nightstand mode — a minimal bedside clock display
• Set multiple alarms for different times of day
• Reliable delivery via AlarmKit, even when the app is closed

Whether it's your morning alarm, your gym reminder, or your wind-down routine — start it with a podcast.

Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.podcastalarm.app/terms-conditions

## Key features

- Wake up to favorite podcasts
- Autoplay episode queue
- Skip podcast intros
- Offline episode playback
- Nightstand clock mode
- Variable playback speed

## Chart rankings

- #31 in Top Paid · News (US App Store)

## What do users think of Podcast Alarm?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 💡 Great idea for an alarm
- 👍 Simple and clean design
- 💰 Free to use
- ✅ Does what it says
- 👍 Developer responsiveness noted

**Cons**

- 🐛 Alarm doesn't work reliably
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 App doesn't play latest episodes
- 🐛 Limited podcast selection
- 🐛 User-unfriendly interface
- 🐛 Paid app with many issues
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance
- 🐛 Requires app to be open
- 🐛 Cannot delete episodes from queue
- 🐛 Paid app, not worth price
- 🐛 Alarm doesn't stop
- 🐛 Issues with horizontal iPad use
- 🐛 Cannot edit set alarms
- 🐛 Alarm plays simultaneously with other audio
- 🐛 Play/pause controls not on lock screen
- 🐛 Tiny play/pause buttons
- 🐛 Cannot sync with Apple podcasts
- 🐛 Paid for an app that doesn't work
- 🐛 Fails to download episodes
- 🐛 Repeat feature doesn't work
- 🐛 Not the most recent episode played
- 🐛 Cannot get alarm to go off
- 🐛 Alarm doesn't go off
- 🐛 Stopped allowing alarms
- 🐛 Cannot link to paid podcasts
- 🐛 Alarm doesn't sound
- 🐛 Volume needs to be maxed
- 🐛 Over-priced for features
- 🐛 Cannot select order of automatic subscriptions
- 🐛 Cannot stop listening without starting new one
- 🐛 Cannot have daily speed setting
- 🐛 Alarm doesn't go off
- 🐛 Not much podcast access
- 🐛 Cannot get it to play sound
- 🐛 Cannot disable recurring alarm easily
- 🐛 Setting recurring alarm creates many individual alarms
- 🐛 Alarm only plays latest episode
- 🐛 Cannot edit set alarms
- 🐛 Cannot sync with Apple podcast app

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Alarm does not go off
- App crashes when setting alarm
- App does not play latest podcast episode
- Cannot delete episodes from queue
- Alarm does not stop
- App freezes and cannot be force shut down
- App fails to download episodes
- Repeat feature does not work
- Alarm does not play sound
- App doesn't always work
- Alarm only plays the latest episode
- Cannot edit set alarms
- Alarm plays simultaneously with other audio
- Play and pause controls not accessible from lock screen
- Alarm does not sound
- App crashes when trying to set an alarm
- Alarm fails to begin playing
- UI is laggy during alarm creation
- Cannot sync with Apple podcast app
- Recurring alarm creates multiple individual alarms
- Cannot disable recurring alarm easily
- Search function not working for podcasts
- App only plays previous day's podcast
- App resumes playing after phone call even on silent
- App cuts off features when used horizontally on iPad

**Most requested features**

- Ability to delete episodes from queue
- Ability to select order of automatic subscriptions
- Ability to stop listening without starting new one
- Ability to set daily podcast speed
- Ability to subscribe to multiple podcasts for continuous play
- Ability to set multiple alarms for snoozing
- Easy way to temporarily disable recurring alarms
- Dark mode option
- Add BBC global news podcast
- Add NPR Up First podcast
- Allow user to pick up where left off on latest episode
- Ability to skip ahead in podcasts
- Allow user to link to already paid podcasts
- Make play and pause buttons larger
- Allow play and pause controls from lock screen
- Allow alarms to pause other audio
- Make time in nightstand mode float to prevent burn-in

## Recent user reviews (10 of 53)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/podcast-alarm-wake-and-listen/id1441890371/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Incredibly annoying

*2026-01-18*

The least user-friendly app ever. I cannot play the podcast episode I want to as an alarm and there is no way to delete an episode from the queue.

### 1/5 — Ne fonctionne pas. À fuir.

*2025-09-08, version 1.24*

J’ai pris cette application (payante) pour pouvoir me réveiller avec des épisodes bien précis de certains podcasts d’hypnose choisis précisément et sélectionnés (cela se nomme « queue » ). Même en maintenant l’application allumée durant la nuit, cela fonctionne une fois sur deux ou trois voire moins. Quand le jour de l’alarme est passé même si on a sélectionné « tous les jours » cela ne fonctionne pas : il n’y a plus rien du tout et il faut reprogrammer chaque soir. Bref. Cette application : c’est n’importe quoi. 7€ à la poubelle. Je dois me réveiller à 4:30. Autant dire que je double avec une vraie « alarme ».

### 2/5 — Unreliable so far

*2025-05-11, version 1.24*

The app has only worked a few times for me. Thankfully I set back up alarms just in case. I’ve tested it and it only seems to work when I have the actual app open. Won’t work if my phone is locked. I tried looking for tips on the website but it seems like I’m doing everything I can for it to work properly? I’d really like to use it but can’t have something unreliable. Any tips appreciated if I’ve missed something.

### 3/5 — GREAT Idea

*2024-10-12*

I love, LOVE, the idea of this so much. But the alarm is not set up-as far as I can tell, to play thethe podcasts under most circumstances. My experience is that the app has to stay open in order for it to work, which And setting up the podcast is a little confusing, and to play the selection as you’re waking up is hit or miss 😭

### 1/5 — 検索が死んでる

*2024-07-25, version 1.24*

検索してもPodcastの曲が出てこなく、ラジオの番組しか出ないのは何故？

### 2/5 — Inconsistent

*2024-06-10*

This app has not worked all this week and I am so disappointed. When it works it is great, but when it’s not I thank God for waking me up in time for work. Get it together, people!!

### 3/5 — Limited functionality

*2024-04-23, version 1.24*

I was hoping this would be able to tee up multiple daily playlists in a particular order for my alarm and play them consecutively. I have a few daily podcasts I like and want to wake up to them in the same order every day. Instead it only plays one and sometimes it plays the previous day for some reason…for a paid app, I was expecting more functionality.

### 1/5 — Unreliable

*2024-02-14*

The app, even when left on in the background, will not set off consistently.

Could be due to the selection of podcasts I have, haven’t tried debugging it that far to see if different podcasts would make a difference.

It’s a shame, this app could be awesome with a little more work and testing.

### 1/5 — Not good

*2023-09-13, version 1.24*

This app is difficult to use and not helpful. Truly a waste of time

### 2/5 — Inconsistent

*2023-08-31*

This app has not worked all this week and I am so disappointed. When it works it is great, but when it’s not I thank God for waking me up in time for work. Get it together, people!!

## Frequently asked questions about Podcast Alarm

### What does Podcast Alarm do?

Podcast Alarm replaces your standard alarm tone with your favorite podcasts. You can set alarms to play specific podcast episodes or a queue of upcoming episodes, ensuring you wake up to engaging content instead of a buzzer.

### What are the key features of Podcast Alarm?

Key features include waking up to your favorite podcasts, automatically skipping intros, creating an autoplay queue of episodes, offline playback for pre-downloaded episodes, variable playback speed, and a nightstand mode for a bedside clock display.

### Is Podcast Alarm free to use?

Yes, the application is available for free. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned, suggesting a completely free experience for users.

### How does offline playback work?

If you are offline, episodes can be pre-downloaded. This ensures that your podcast alarm will play instantly when it goes off, even without an internet connection.

### Can I set multiple alarms?

Yes, you can set multiple alarms for different times of the day. This allows you to use podcasts to start your morning, remind you of gym sessions, or accompany your wind-down routine.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.2.0 — 2026-06-08

Reliability fixes for alarms not playing audio, plus a fix for queue items being removed when an alarm fails to start.

### 2.0.1 — 2026-04-15

Fixing an issue with recurring alarms not playing the latest episodes

### 2.0 — 2026-03-31

Welcome to Podcast Alarm 2.0! Completely redesigned from the ground up.

- Beautiful new interface with a fresh, modern look
- Skip intro: jump past episode intros (15s–120s)
- Autoplay queue: episodes play back-to-back automatically
- Improved podcast discovery and search
- Smoother playback with variable speed (0.5x–2.0x)
- Better alarm reliability with AlarmKit
- Bug fixes and performance improvements

Important: Alarms from the previous version could not be carried over. Please recreate your alarms after updating — it only takes a moment.

### 1.24 — 2023-03-28

Bugs and fixes

### 1.23 — 2020-12-08

Bug Fixes

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## More apps by Jonathan Wilson

- [AI Decorator - Room Redesign](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-decorator-room-redesign/id6446038210)
- [Phone Repair POS & Tickets](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phone-repair-pos-and-tickets/id6759859240)

All apps by Jonathan Wilson: https://appshunter.io/developer/1077840208

## Related topics

[podcast alarm](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/podcast-alarm)

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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 2026-09-13.*