Marco Arment's much anticipated podcast playing app was released today. In following with the trend in iOS games, Overcast is free with an in app purchase option for $5 that unlocks:
- Smart Speed
- Voice Boost
- Per-podcast audio effect settings
- One-by-one playback option
- Cellular downloads
- Variable playback speed
- Sleep Timer
- Unlimited playlists
- Unlimited episodes in playlists
Overcast includes a nifty tool to import your subscriptions from other podcast apps you may use - in my case Pocket Casts. Instructions are included for many popular podcast apps. (Ironically my email from Pocket Casts went into my spam folder. Perhaps because the company is named Shifty Jelly?)
Screenshots of Overcast
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Overcast Reviews from Around the Web
- MacStories - "Two months after putting Overcast on my Home screen as a vote of confidence and using it to listen to podcasts every day, I don't want to go back to any other podcast app I've tried before." MacStories review includes animated GIFs showing the app's user interface as well as audio samples demoing the Smart Speed and Voice Boost features.
- 512 Pixels - "Overcast actually makes you younger."
- The Sweet Setup - "The app’s unique audio and discovery features are great, but the lack of a tablet app and streaming support will be disappointing for many users."
- Hacker News even seems to like it. (Traditionally HN isn't a big Marco Arment fan for... reasons.)
- iMore - "You add podcasts to Overcast by hitting the + button. If you've given Overcast (read-only) access to your Twitter account, you'll see recommendations from the people you follow on Twitter"
- Macworld - "Overcast’s approach to playlists is smart: Not only can you choose specific podcasts to add to a playlist (or the inverse, choosing specific podcasts to ban), but there’s a Priority Podcasts feature that lets you specify which podcasts float to the top of the play order."
You can read more from Marco about developing Overcast. He's a developer that's opinionated about his software and we all benefit from that. Overcast won't be for everyone but by using the in app purchase model Marco's made it possible for everyone to at least try it out to decide if Overcast is right for them.