[theguycalledtom]

So,in the future, iOS will no longer have built in podcast support? iPhone users will now always have to download a separate app to get podcasts?

This is a huge set-back for the podcast medium. There is so much friction convincing potential blue water podcast listeners to subscribe to podcasts.

Haters are going to automatically say "podcasts are a niche, they have a small audience" so who cares? Well, before Apple put in built in support for smart phone apps in iOS with an app store on the home screen. The smartphone app audience was one of the smallest around. Now look at where we are.

[jsz0]

Hard to say. It may come bundled with the final release of iOS6. I think they just wanted to get it out the door now for whatever reason. The app uses a number of new UI metaphors and includes elements of the iOS6 App Store redesign so perhaps they are just testing the waters a little here.

[ajanuary]

Personally I hope they do more apps as app store downloads. I don't want a stock app and I want a different calculator app. They can come pre-installed, but I want to be able to delete them and redownload them as necessary.

Podcasts weren't particularly visible before. I may be remembering wrong (I've changed the tab order in my own app) but Podcasts were hidden under the "More..." tab.

[theguycalledtom]

Ok, if someone tweets to you "Check out this cool podcast" and provides a direct link, how many steps does it take for you to subscribe?

[ajanuary]

I hadn't thought about that.

If it comes pre-bundled, click link, that opens in Podcasts app, click Subscribe.

If it doesn't, they've still currently got podcast integration with iTunes desktop, which means there will still be an iTunes page and itunes links will work, they just won't redirect to the itms-podcast protocol or whatever it is. They could link to the app from there.

[jonny_eh]

The podcast app is an improvement to the old way, requiring a person to go to their computer and load up iTunes, then to sync.

[theguycalledtom]

But a much better way would have just been to add a "subscribe" button to podcasts in the itunes store, even if they were still in the music app, (which was once called the "iPod" app). Just as magazines in Newstand are allowed to let users subscribe and download new issues in the background.

Being in the music app also allowed them to be searchable by spotlight, which even gave you a blue indicator of what episode was un-listened.