Google Podcasts has been officially discontinued for a week now and its successor, YouTube Music, doesn't seem to be living up to expectations, with YouTube Music Podcasts being a disappointment for some users.
Luckily, it seems like the YouTube Music Podcast team is listening. They took to Reddit to let us know that they're taking our feedback into consideration and are "in the process of implementing several improvements."
See also: Google Podcasts: Stopping in the US next week
In addition, they presented a concise list of the improvements they have already implemented regarding podcasts, such as:
Upgraded sorting options: It's now possible to organize a podcast's episodes by release, from newest to oldest or vice versa, popularity, or choose the default setting. It's impressive that this feature wasn't available from day one, though.
Global reach: Users outside the U.S. now have the ability to get podcasts directly to their homepage, with the addition of the new “Suggested Shows” option, a feature already available to U.S. users. This makes discovering new episodes much easier.
Search Improvement: Better results that make finding the podcasts you want more efficient and easier.
These changes are a positive step, but it's really disappointing that they weren't made before Google Podcasts was shut down. Meanwhile, YouTube Music is missing critical featuresthat even the most amateur podcast enthusiasts will spot.
Many of the suggestions made in this Reddit thread highlight the disappointing lack of some key features. The integration of features like searching for a specific episode within a series, easy chapter navigation, and the ability to mark episodes as watched are all crucial and still missing, which is a significant gap.
Despite the official announcement of the move from Google Podcasts to YouTube Music only last year, it's been known for some time that this was the prospect. Given that timeline, it's surprising how late it has been to port many features from Google Podcasts to its new form.
Read also: Google Podcasts integration into YouTube Music
We hope Google takes user feedback seriously and implements the suggested improvements as soon as possible. Given that many users have no alternatives, some may turn to other platforms, such as Pocket Casts or Spotify. Therefore, the need for an improved experience.
Source: phonearena
