14 DAY TRIAL // Podcasts remains one of Apple’s most hated products, and there’s a plurality of reasons for this, ranging from problems with its design and functionality to the awful cloud access and constant crashes.
In fact, most of the users complaining about Podcasts as of late seem to be experiencing the same issue: constant crashing upon launching the app. Here’s one such example. User Bazzerif writes on the iTunes Store, “Sadly, always crashes on launch. I have never seen this version (2.1.2) or other recent versions (2.1.1, 2.1) run even a single time.”
“All of these versions of Podcasts consistently crash seconds after launch on my iPhone 4; the app does not get past an initial all-white screen,” this person adds. “No messages about what might be the problem. True even if launching Podcasts is one's very first action after restarting the phone. Did Apple not test these versions even once on an iPhone 4?”
Last updated in May, Podcasts 2.1.2 promised to deliver improved episode browsing, Siri integration, CarPlay support, the ability to start playing a station right from the stations list, an option to share links to your favorite podcasts using AirDrop, and more.
Instead of lauding the update, users wrote mostly negative reviews about its poor design. Here’s another such example, this time from a person identified as TheReasoner on Apple’s iTunes Store.
“Whereas Podcast has never lived up to Apple standards, it was at least usable. When Apple cloudified it, Podcast went straight to hell,” says this person, echoing complaints from others who liked Podcasts much better when it wasn’t tied to the iCloud.
“It has stayed there ever since despite updates. Before, I only got podcasts through iTunes, downloading through WiFi,” TheReasoner adds. “I could then listen and delete those casts that I didn't want and simply leave those that I did want. [...] Stop cloudifying already. I don't want to chew up my data plan on podcasts and I don't want to see them if they aren't on my phone.
Apple doesn’t seem to be paying any attention to the negative reviews left by Podcasts users. Of the 32K ratings it has on the iTunes Store, over 20K are single-star hits. And this has been going on for almost a year now, not just since the 2.1.2 update.
The most probable cause is the fact that Apple is currently focusing its efforts on embedding Podcasts in iOS 8, which is set to debut this fall. In other words, the company is refusing to waste engineering resources on a product that will be discontinued in three months.