iPhones make great accessible media players. It's one less device you need to carry around, and with a Wi-Fi or cell data connection you are always just a few double-taps away from the latest books, news, and entertainment. More and more, I find myself accessing the latter two via the ever-growing number and quality of downloadable podcasts. I subscribe to nearly a hundred different feeds, from 99% Invisible to WTF with Mark Maron, and Downcast, my podcast player of choice, is without doubt the most frequently used app on my iPhone.
Recently, a new iOS podcast player app has begun to make a name for itself within the accessibility community. It's called Overcast, from Overcast Radio, LLC, and it's from Marco Arment, co-founder of Tumblr and creator of Instapaper. I decided to have a look for myself, both at its functionality and its accessibility. Here's what I found.
A Different Approach
The Overcast app is free from the iOS App Store, but unlocking all of the features requires a $4.99 in-app purchase. I tested version 1.02 on my iPhone 5 running iOS 7.12. The app runs on iPhones, iPads and iPod touches running iOS 7 and above. The iPad version is the same version as the iPhone version, however, and it only runs in portrait mode. The developer plans to release an iPad-optimized version, along with a version that will run on Mac OS X. He has no plans to create an Android or Windows version.
Most podcast apps keep a list of your subscribed podcasts in an OPML file, then download new episodes when you instruct the app to do a feed check, or on a time schedule you set in the app's settings. Overcast does things differently. You need to set up an account to use Overcast, and when you do, your podcast subscription list is uploaded onto the Overcast servers. The list is checked continuously against the various feeds, and when a new episode is posted it is auto-downloaded into Overcast, where, optionally, a device alert is triggered so you know the new podcast is now available for playback.
There are definite advantages to this approach. If you're like me and have a large subscription list, your device doesn't spend a lot of time checking feeds, a potential drain on both battery and processing power. Many of the podcasts I subscribe to have erratic publishing schedules, requiring any number of connections and checks before a new episode is detected and downloaded. With Overcast, when I open the app I know that all new episodes have already been downloaded. And if my favorite podcast posts an episode a few hours early, I will receive it almost immediately. If I double-tap the alert I will be taken directly to Overcast. Unfortunately, the app does not begin auto play of the podcast for which I received the alert. This would be a useful feature for a later version or update.
Getting Started
After creating an account, you are given the opportunity to import your subscription list from any other podcast client already installed on your device. Select your existing player and the app will give you instructions on how to export the OPML file from that player and send it to Overcast, which will then subscribe you to those feeds and begin auto-checking for new episodes.
The Overcast interface is fairly simple, featuring a row of five controls across the top of the screen: Settings, Download, Add Playlist, Add Podcast, and Playlists. We'll hold off on describing the Add Playlist and Playlists tabs, since these only work in the full-featured product.
The Add Podcast tab allows you to search for a podcast by name, and then to download episodes or subscribe to the feed. It also displays a list of "Starter Kits," groupings of podcasts arranged by category—Tech, Public Radio, Pop Culture, and the like—which you can access individually, or, if you are a new podcast listener, "Subscribe to All" and then decide later which podcasts you enjoy and unsubscribe from the rest.
Overcast includes one other, rather unique way, to find podcasts you might enjoy. In the Details screen of each podcast episode there is a "Recommend" button. Back on the "Add Podcasts" screen you will also find a "Recommendations from Twitter" button. This button will seek out programs that have been recommended using Overcast by people you follow on Twitter, who, presumably, share a lot of your interests. Already I have found and subscribed to several new podcasts feeds using this method.
The Download tab lists any podcasts that failed to properly download, along with a button to "Resume download." There is also an "Allow Cellular Downloads" option, but this option is only available in the full-feature version, and I would advise against use of this feature, unless you have an unlimited data plan, or if you have no available Wi-Fi and wish to download an episode or two to help pass the time.
The Settings tab includes the customary Help and support information, along with settings for the Seek Back By and Seek Forward By controls. You can set either or both of these to move by 7, 15, 30, 45, or 60 seconds with each double-tap.
Moving down the screen, you will find the default Playlist, All Episodes followed by two headings; Podcasts and Played Podcasts. The first offers a list of all podcasts and their publishers/producers with unplayed episodes. The second shows all of your subscribed podcasts with no unplayed episodes. By default these lists are sorted alphabetically, but the full-featured version offers additional sorting options, which I will describe in the next section.
Double-tap any podcast title to open the episode list. You can now select whether you wish to view only unplayed titles, or a list of all back episodes. Each episode screen includes a "Settings" button, where you can change subscription options, notifications options, and set the number of unplayed episodes to keep.
Double-tap any episode title to begin playback. Downloaded episodes begin playing immediately. Downcast does not include the ability to stream podcasts or listen to them while they are downloading.
All of the podcast buttons are labeled, and the play controls are completely VoiceOver accessible. The volume, play/pause and fast forward/rewind controls are accessible using Apple earbuds, so this app will work nicely locked and stowed in your pocket or handbag.
Played episodes are removed from your player automatically. There are two ways to delete a partially played or unwanted episode using VoiceOver. With the title highlighted, double-tap on the screen, swipe left, and then double-tap the delete button. You can also swipe to or single-tap the line above the episode title, which provides the episode's running time and publication date, perform a one-finger-swipe-up gesture, then use the rotor's Action menu to delete the episode the same way you would clear an e-mail.
Unlocking the Power
Overcast includes a $4.99 in-app purchase option, which unlocks a number of extra features that can enhance your podcast listening experience.
Effects
This button on your episode player screen summons options for the following.
- Speed: Allows you to vary playback speed from .75 to 2.25 times normal. This app does an excellent job maintaining voice quality at higher speeds. It also offers a few more speed options than most podcast clients, including 1.125, 1.375 and 2.25.
- Voice Boost: Adds voice equalization to enhance the quality and listenability of conversation. This feature also does a good job normalizing volume between podcasts so you don't have to keep fiddling with the volume controls.
- Smart Speed: Most podcasts contain large blocks of conversation, and most conversations contain a lot of dead air, times when no one is speaking or brief pauses as one of the speaker collects his or her thoughts. This option snips out these brief silences on the fly, and I found the resulting playback both time-saving and easy to listen to, without the constant clicks and missing syllables created by many voice compressors.
- For This Show, Always Use: Lets you choose whether or not you wish the above Effects settings to be the default settings for future episodes of this podcast.
Timer Settings
The "Player" button on the playback screen lets you choose if you want Overcast to play the next program or stop playback when the current show ends. You can also set a sleep timer. There are buttons to add 5 minutes and 30 minutes. Press the 5-minute button twice and the 30-minute button once if, say, you want to set a forty-minute sleep timer. Unfortunately, playback ceases a bit too abruptly for my tastes.
Playlists
By default, the only playlist Overcast offers is the "All Podcasts" list displayed just below the top menu bar. The unlocked version offers more options.
With the full-featured version, Use the "Add Playlist" button to create and name a new program playlist. Choose the "Include" sort option of your choice: New or in Progress, In Progress only, or Deleted Only. The first choice is most common, but you might also wish to create a list that displays all of your in-progress episodes so you can catch up on shows you have not yet finished.
The next rule option is Include. Decide here if you wish to add selected podcasts to your playlist, or exclude them. This latter is a useful option if there are just a few titles you don't regularly listen to. Select the few you don't want, then choose Exclude Them.
Next, you can choose how to sort your playlist: by podcast or by episode, and by newest to oldest, or oldest to newest. You can also designate titles as Priority Podcasts, in which case new episodes will always appear at the very top of your playlist, making them that much easier to find using VoiceOver.
Lastly, if there is a particular episode you wish to add to your playlist without adding the entire podcast feed, use the "Additional Episodes" button to add them.
Your new playlist will show up on the main screen. Double-tap its name and a list of episodes will display. You can edit a playlist from this screen, change its settings, or reorder and delete individual episodes. Unfortunately, I could find no way to change the sort order of an existing playlist, or reorder your list of playlists.
Summing Up
There are a few places in this app where the two-finger scrub gesture does not work, and you need to find the actual Back button to exit a screen. Other than that, I could find no VoiceOver snags or unlabeled buttons or controls. The layout is easy to navigate and intuitive, with only one exception that I could find. In the player screen of certain video podcasts, there is an extra button that displays the length of the podcast. If you get curious and double-tap this link you will wind up beginning a second playback of the episode, at which time the two-finger play/stop gesture will not pause playback, it will toggle you back and forth between the two playback sessions.
When I installed Overcast on my iPad and entered my account credentials my OPML subscription list was automatically installed. My playlists were also synchronized, but none of the unplayed episodes on my iPhone were downloaded. Overcast reported I had no unplayed episodes, and I had to wait for new programs to be posted before they would auto-download. This was a definite disappointment. Using the app on both my iPhone and iPad, I foresee a lot of cleaning up, deleting podcasts I have already listened to on the other device. Hopefully this ability is near the top of the developer's feature request list.
I listen to a lot of podcasts, and I play them fast. I think the Effects settings are among the app's best features. I do wish the play screen included a scroll-by-percent-played seek control, which allows you to move more rapidly through a lengthy program than the time seek control. I also wish there were more choices for the Seek Back and Seek Forward controls. Sixty seconds does not satisfy when listening to a radio program podcast with 5-minute blocks of commercials. A "shake to advance" feature such as the one in Downcast would also be a welcome addition.
With all that said, I do not hesitate recommending this app to VoiceOver users who use their iPhone or iPad for podcast listening. I will probably continue to use Downcast to listen to podcasts with long commercial breaks, but I find a lot to like in the Overcast app. I think it is well worth the $4.99 purchase price, and given the bona fides of the developer, I am confident new features and improvements will be both forthcoming and frequent.
