[gernb]

I just went to check it on the iPhone App store. I know that ratings might not mean anything? but, I noticed it was rated 3.9 of 5 stars vs several other podcasts with up to 6x to 90x more votes and 4.5 to 5 stars.

Is it just a popularity contest or are those other apps better?

Podcast App (4.8, 228k votes)

Google Podcasts (4.7, 10k votes)

Overcast (4.7, 33k votes)

Podcast Player - Castbox (4.8, 98k votes)

Pocket Casts (3.9, 2.8k votes)

Stitcher (4.8, 4.7k votes)

Discounting the apple podcast app (4.9, 973k votes) since it's built in and therefore has an unfair advantage.

Might explain why it was sold if it was clear it wasn't winning. I certainly like the idea of a player that doesn't report to someone my interests.

[ESMirro]

A decent portion of those negative reviews stem from various controversies the app has gone through over the years combined with a passionate and easily angered user base.

The main two being:

- The 7.0 UI update in which certain features such as playlists were removed & the UX streamlined.

- The move from a paid app to free with subscription.

It’s an excellent app for the most part, certainly on par with others in that list.

[samatman]

App developers love to pop up a 'nudge' to rate the app, because they know people are nice, and also, they want the fsking popup to go away, so people know that 1-5 stars is the only way to dismiss it and go with 5.

An open-source app will have... passionate users. Great way to shoot ourselves in the foot here.

[benhurmarcel]

It might have something to do with brigading back when they pissed off existing users by switching to a subscription.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/19/20873611/pocket-casts-plu...