Everything New in the iOS 15 Apple Podcasts App

The Podcasts app gets a number of improvements in Apple's recently released iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 updates, including the new, systemwide Shared with You feature, personalized recommendations, new keyboard shortcuts, and more.

iOS 15 Podcasts Feature
This guide walks through all of the main new features and improvements added in the ‌iOS 15‌ and iPadOS 15 Apple Podcasts app, in what makes for a modest update for both casual and avid podcast listeners following a major overhaul with iOS 14.5 and further tweaks in iOS 14.6.

Shared With You

Shared with You is a new feature that is present in many of Apple's apps, including Apple Music, Apple News, and ‌Apple Podcasts‌. Shared with You highlights content that has been sent to you by friends and family directly in the app it relates to.

In ‌Apple Podcasts‌, episodes, shows, and channels sent in Messages automatically appear in a new, dedicated Shared with You section in the Listen Now view. When listeners navigate to the shared episode, show, or channel, a new button at the top indicates who shared it with them. They can tap that button from the corresponding page or section in Listen Now to jump back to the moment it was shared in Messages to send a Tapback or reply, or simply see the context of when it was sent.

ios 15 podcasts app features

Personalized Recommendations in Listen Now

Listeners can now discover new podcasts with personalized recommendations. There are new sections in Listen Now titled "You Might Like" and "If you like..." that recommend new shows based on what listeners of shows you already follow are listening to, shows that are in the same category, and shows from the same channel.

There are also new sections with personalized recommendations based on topics users listen to. For example, listeners who enjoy shows of a particular category will see new sections with suggestions for shows in similar categories. These recommendations are based on the more than 100 categories and subcategories that are available to podcast creators in ‌Apple Podcasts‌ Connect or through a third-party hosting provider.

1.25x Playback Speed

The ‌Apple Podcasts‌ app now features an option for 1.25x playback speed. Previously, there was only a 0.5x, 1x, 1.5x, and 2x playback speed. 1.25x is the perfect option for users who want to get through their podcasts more quickly, but find 1.5x too fast.

To use the new 1.25x playback speed, simply tap on the purple 1x speed button to the left of the AirPlay icon to cycle through the playback speed options.

iPadOS 15 Keyboard Shortcuts

The ‌Apple Podcasts‌ app for iPad features a host of new keyboard shortcuts. Previously, the only keyboard shortcut in the app was Command + R to refresh feeds, but there are now a total of 17 keyboard shortcuts.

Some of the new shortcuts include Space bar to pause, Command + Right Arrow to skip to the next episode, Shift + Command + Right Arrow to skip 30 seconds forward, and Option + 4 to set double-speed playback. To see all of the available keyboard shortcuts, like in any ‌iPad‌ app, simply hold down the Command key.

ipados 15 podcasts app keyboard shortcuts
The keyboard shortcuts were working throughout the beta testing period, but some users have reported that they are not showing up in the release version of iPadOS 15. They are, however, working in the initial beta version of iPadOS 15.1, so it appears there may currently be a bug affecting their availability.

Guide Feedback

Have questions about the new Podcasts app features in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, know of a feature we left out, or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Related Forum: iOS 15

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...

Top Rated Comments

nickhutson Avatar
49 months ago
Remember the days of just having a list of your podcast episodes in a nice order? None of this Shows vs Episode, See All vs Saved, Library Vs Browse etc etc. It really is a bloated piece of software!
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mnsportsgeek Avatar
49 months ago
They need to blow the whole thing up again. Worst app apple makes.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nvmls Avatar
49 months ago

They need to blow the whole thing up again. Worst app apple makes.
For a company like Apple it's unbelievable the level of software they've been putting out lately.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BMox81 Avatar
49 months ago

Just fix new episode notifications already. Its been like 10 years now. How is this possible.
I literally get no notifications from Apple Podcasts yet Pocket Casts with the same podcasts send them immediately.

Just insane how bad it is at present.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pocket Computer Avatar
49 months ago

All I want at this point is for the podcast app to remember where I was in a podcast. This has been happening for months. Are others experiencing this? If I leave the app for 20 minutes and comes back, it often forgets I've started a podcast.
This right here. I've talked to apple support about it, reloaded my phone from scratch (not using a backup, etc.) and it still happens.

Here's how I'm able to duplicate this, and I'm wondering if you run into the same problem:

* Go to a podcast that you're not subscribed to.
* Start playing it for a bit
* Pause it
* Come back in about an hour (usually less) and it will not remember that you were playing it.

Is this what you're experiencing?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4tune8chance Avatar
49 months ago
It’s still a mess to navigate. I don’t understand how Apple can get this app so wrong.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)