Apple has announced a major revamp of its Podcasts app, rolling out slick video features this spring across iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro and the web.
Video podcasts are booming, with 37% of over-12s tuning in monthly. Spotify, YouTube and Netflix are already ahead as YouTube boasts a billion monthly viewers, while Spotify shelled out over $100 million to creators early last year and Netflix debuted shows like The Pete Davidson Show.
“Twenty years ago, Apple helped take podcasting mainstream by adding podcasts to iTunes, and more than a decade ago, we introduced the dedicated Apple Podcasts app,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services.
“By bringing a category-leading video experience to Apple Podcasts, we’re putting creators in full control of their content and how they build their businesses, while making it easier than ever for audiences to listen or watch podcasts.”
Listeners can now flip between audio and video in a single feed, with picture-in-picture, full-screen viewing and offline downloads in the iOS 26.4 beta.
Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming merges old RSS feeds and opens the door to dynamic ads via partners like Acast, Amazon’s ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio, and SiriusXM at no cost to creators, though ad networks foot impression fees.
The Services division, home to Podcasts, raked in $30 billion last quarter, and January’s Q.ai buy signals more audio AI tricks up Apple’s sleeve.