Apple Podcasts can now be heard on the web without a separate app

AppleInsider

For the first time, Apple has made its whole podcast library available online, where it can be heard in Safari or other browsers, instead of the Apple Podcasts app.

Apple Podcasts is now available on the web

Following the release of Apple Maps for the web in July 2024, Apple has now brought another service online. Apple Podcasts can now be played in a web browser.

"Users can now get the favorite features they love," said the company, "including the ability to browse millions of shows across a variety of categories, access their Library and Top Charts, purchase premium podcast subscriptions and much more."

It's intended for people using PCs and Android. Anyone clicking an Apple Podcasts weblink on an Apple device will instead see the regular Podcasts app open.

Apple says that this makes sharing podcast shows and episodes simpler. It also means that creators' shows are now "accessible to anyone with a web browser on any device, reaching a wider global audience."

The move to making Apple Podcasts freely and widely available online also follows the company's moves to provide embeddable links to shows. It introduced an embeddable podcasts player in November 2020.



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rare comment

I don't get it - the podcasts aren't "Apple" podcasts - this is just a player (in contrast to Apple Maps where the maps really are created by Apple and were simply unavailable without an Apple device until they brought maps to the web)?  And this is also different from bringing Apple Music to the web (or Android/Windows app) because, again, until Apple created the non-Apple device versions, having access to your Apple Music subscription was not possible.  Is this just about syncing and sharing?  I'm not saying there is a downside, I just wonder why this exists.  Also, do links sent from the podcast app not open for people without an apple device?