Overcast for iOS reached version 4.1 today, adding a handful of noteworthy features to the popular third-party podcast player.
First up is Smart Resume, which aims to reduce the impact of playback interruptions. With the new feature enabled, podcast playback jumps back a few seconds after the podcast has been paused, to help remind the listener where they left off in the conversation.
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Smart Resume, which is on by default, also intelligently adjusts playback so that it resumes in the silences between spoken words wherever possible. Users can control the feature from Overcast's Nitpicky Details menu.
Also new in v4.1, Overcast can now be set to auto-delete podcasts 24 hours after playback is completed. Previously, episodes could be auto-deleted either immediately after listening or not at all, but now users can leave a day-long delay before their removal, and the threshold for deletion will be paused during extended offline periods such as long-haul flights.
Elsewhere, passwords for private podcast feeds can now be entered into the Add URL screen (rather than via HTTP Basic Auth) and a number of bug fixes have been implemented, which should result in less download fails and playback stalls, and no glitches when resuming playback after quitting in the background, amongst other improvements.
Lastly, iPhone rotation support has been removed from Overcast 4.1, due to the function's extremely low usage coupled with the burden of peculiarities that comes with coding in support for iPhone X displays.
Overcast 4.1 is available as a free ad-supported app for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Thanks. You lost me at premium and subscription.
Well Overcast pays to run the servers that host and serve up content that you add, and sync it across all your devices.If all the free app does is slightly improve the free Apple Podcast one, then I'll keep looking.
Not sure why adding my own content would necessitate a premium feature.
Of course, if you create your own RSS feed in a text editor you can manually add entries that point to mp3 files you've uploaded somewhere publicly accessible, then subscribe to that feed as a podcast. All for free. Your call!
Apple should just buy overcast, slap their logo on it and call it a day
It's far more valuable for Apple to have strong independent developers. Marco has drawn an elegant line between free ad-supported functionality and a strong subscription base (423 signed up for the $9.99/year subscription this week). It is a powerful example that developers can thrive in the app store ecology. We need more developers like Marco, and more apps like this.Marco,is a caring and committed developer, and the app is great. I am happy to subscribe to support this app.
Same here, I get a lot for the little money he asks for.