Google introduced watch speaker playback with Wear OS 5.1, and the latest update to Pocket Casts adds support.
Version 8.3 of Pocket Casts is a sizable update for the Wear OS client. You can now listen to podcasts without Bluetooth headphones or speakers. Just start playing, while you can quickly switch to a paired device from the volume page. YouTube Music also offers podcast — but not music — playback via the speaker.
The watch app’s homepage now lets you see what has been “Starred” from your phone, with archived and played episodes grayed out. In other views, like on podcast pages, archived/played episodes are now hidden.
Pocket Casts has also updated the Downloads screen on Wear OS with a loading spinner.
You must be a Pocket Casts Plus subscriber ($3.99 per month or $39.99 per year) to use the Wear OS app. Pocket Casts 8.3 is rolling out now via the Play Store.
Winter drop for Wear OS: your watch can finally talk back with playback through the speaker, plus a brand-new Starred Episodes screen. Downloads learned patience with a loading spinner, starred shows now sort properly and include episodes from podcasts you ditched, and smaller images load faster. Played or archived episodes fade out or disappear. Volume boost now knows when it’s on, images stopped crashing the party, and Help & Feedback found its padding. Cozy.
Meanwhile, Pocket Casts shared today that the next update (version 8.4) will remove the green Radioactivity theme: “This theme has not seen much use for a while, and it has also been responsible for a disproportionate number of UI glitches and edge case issues… Removing Radioactivity helps us simplify the app, reduce bugs, and spend more time improving features that more listeners use and love.”
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