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Apple launches Podcast Analytics, giving podcasters basic metrics about their shows
Apple launched a new Podcast Analytics service in beta on Thursday, giving podcasters the chance to take a look at basic metrics and trends. Available in beta, this new service was first announced during WWDC 2017.
Rewind 2017: Apple reveals most popular apps, music, movies & more
Apple today announced its annual App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store and other content rankings, highlighting App of the Year, Game of the Year and other Best of 2017 top charts whilst announcing winners via the Today section of iOS 11's revamped App Store.
Spotify takes on Apple by promoting podcasts from established producers
Looking to diversify its offerings beyond songs, Apple Music rival Spotify will promote podcasts from established producers in its mobile app and via ads on buses.
Basic analytics coming to iOS 11’s Podcasts app
Like many stock apps in iOS 11, Apple's Podcasts app has been redesigned around an Apple Music-style appearance with consolidated tabs, bigger thumbnails and more.
As reported by Recode's Peter Kafka and Six Colors' Jason Snell, Apple is also making some notable changes to the way podcast feed works so that both podcast creators and advertisers can see what listeners actually like.
As for users, they'll be able to download full seasons of their favorite podcast shows and the Podcasts app will determine if a podcast should be played in chronological order.
There are other updates focused on making podcast creators' lives easier as well. According to Apple's own spec sheet regarding the Podcasts app updates in iOS 11, the updated Apple Podcasts specification now provides the following features:
Podcast creators can now provide clear, concise titles. Improvements to how episodes are ordered and recommended within a season. The ability for new subscribers to receive the full current season in their Library. Quick play lets users pick up listening where they left off.Podcasts will be able to define individual seasons and explain whether an episode is a teaser, a full episode or bonus content. Snell explains that these extensions will be read by the Podcasts app and used to present a podcast in a richer way than the current linear approach in iOS 10.
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As explained, Apple is going to share more data with podcast creators and advertisers.
With basic analytics, podcast creators will have the ability to see when listeners play individual episodes, what part of individual episodes they listen to, which parts they skip over and when they stop listening. To protect your privacy and prevent targeted advertising, Apple will provide aggregated, anonymized performance data that cannot be tracked to individual users.
Currently, podcast creators can see when someone has downloaded an individual episode, but that's about it when it comes to analytics.
How do you like these changes coming to the Podcasts app?
Share your opinion in the comments section below.
WWDC to offer fully outfitted on-site studio for podcasters
If you're a podcaster attending Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week, Apple has a fully featured on-site studio that you can use to record the latest episode of your podcast.
They're calling it Apple Podcasts Studio and it's located inside the McEnery Convention Center.
Booking studio time is by appointment only. The available slots are limited to one per person for the duration of the conference.
According to the description on the updated WWDC app, each hour-long recording session can accommodate up to four contributors, with Apple's experts on hand to provide help if need be.
Podcasters shall receive a copy of their session for post-production and distribution.
“You may request a reservation beginning at 7am for that day only,” notes the firm.
Tapping Request Reservation within the WWDC app takes you to the webpage at developer.apple.com/wwdc/consultations/ where you can reserve studio time:
Tuesday: 10:00am—6:00pm Wednesday—Thursday: 9:00am—6:00pm Friday: 9:00am—3:00pmIn April 2017, Apple rebranded its iTunes Podcasts app as Apple Podcasts.
Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, said at the February 2017 Code Media conference that Apple's been working on new features for podcasters. Last year, the Cupertino giant invited top podcasters to its headquarters to hear their complaints.
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iTunes Podcasts rechristened as Apple Podcasts
Apple's long offered a dedicated podcast directory, titled iTunes Podcasts. As first noted by 9to5Mac, the company has rebranded iTunes Podcasts as Apple Podcasts and is now offering redesigned badge artwork and icons for publishers to use via its Apple Podcasts Identity Guideline webpage.
Refreshed badge graphics is now showing the “Listen on Apple Podcasts” message.
How to turn off notifications for specific podcasts on iPhone
Getting too many podcast notifications on your iPhone or iPad? Learn how to turn off alerts for specific podcast shows without unfollowing or unsubscribing from them. We will also explain how to turn off all notifications for the entire Podcasts app and share what to do if you rely on third-party apps.
How and where to share faster with AirDrop
In the absence of reliable figures from Apple, it is not much more than conjecture to say that AirDrop is likely a feature often neglected by the average iOS user. The gut feeling persists though, simply based on day to day observations, and it is a tenable position to take until proven wrong by Cupertino or another reputable source. The file transfer protocol is indeed handy for the transfer of heavier media files (e.g. videos, photo albums), but often only becomes relevant to us when we for example have upgraded to a new device.
Next to sheer transmission speed however, there are other notable areas where AirDrop has the clear edge when it comes to sharing all kinds of material from your iPhone. The AirDrop icon has now fully permeated the sharing tab in iOS 10’s user interface and that is for a good reason: it is without fail going to be more nimble than iMessage, Mail or other contenders, often actually skipping steps that would throttle the process elsewhere. Such being the case, here are some unique scenarios where AirDrop excels on your iPhone and why you should try to embrace the feature more regularly.
Want podcasts on your Apple Watch? There’s finally an app for that
The ability to store and play podcasts on Apple Watch is one of many features advocated for regarding future watchOS updates, but so far it has fallen on deaf ears at Apple. With the cries for podcasts on Watch slowly reaching fever pitch, developers have taken matters into their own hands and released a fully functional podcast app that enables the transfer of your favorite subscriptions from iPhone to Apple Watch.
The app goes by the name WatchPlayer and (while moody at times) gives a solid account of itself, effectively beating Apple to the punch in the podcast race. Find out below how the data transfer is realized, where it trumps Apple's stock apps and what areas of WatchPlayer could do with some attention.
Is Jony Ive no longer directly involved with iPhone and Mac product design?
In an article Tuesday titled “Pundits Believe Apple's Jony Ive No Longer Involved in iPhone, Mac Product Design,” AppleInsider reports that journalist Jason Snell and Daring Fireball's John Gruber speculated on a recent The Talk Show podcast that Ive, who is Apple's Chief Design Officer, may be now more focused on architectural projects like the upcoming Spaceship campus and special initiatives such as Project Titan than industrial designs related to the iPhone, iPad, Mac and other consumer products from Apple.
Apple launches new ‘Spoken Editions’ content section in iTunes
Apple on Monday launched a new section in iTunes called 'Spoken Editions.' The section can be found under Podcasts in iTunes, or in the official Podcasts app, with the tagline "Too busy to read your favorite websites? Just listen! These audio versions give you tons of great narrated stories."