Recently Apple released a new Podcasts app in the App Store. The new app is the go-to spot for all things Podcasts and it was rumored that Apple was going to remove them from the iTunes/Music app altogether. Our source recently discovered this to be true, but only under special conditions…
Reports had spread that the Podcast section in the iTunes/Music app had been removed in iOS 6. Then it was confirmed they were restored by various Apple Blogs.
This is one quote from AppleInsider:
The latest iOS 6 beta also adds the podcasts section back into the iTunes application.
Since the second beta of iOS 6 was released, our source had achance to go through and find a small exception to podcasts being moved around in iOS 6. Seems that if you have the Podcasts app installed on the iOS 6 device, any sections corresponding to podcasts in the other Apple apps are removed. This causes the message you see above upon install on a fresh version of iOS 6 beta 2.
Without Podcasts Installed (left) - With Podcasts Installed (right)
If you look at the two images above, the one on the left shows “Podcasts,” while the one on the right is missing the section. That’s because the screenshot on the right has the Podcasts app installed.
Now check out these screenshots from the iTunes app.
iOS 5.1.1 (left) - iOS 6 Beta 2 (right)
Even Podcasts in iTunes is missing regardless of what recent reports claim. Also having the Podcast app present or not, has impact on whether they show in iTunes. This is definitely from the latest build of iOS 6. The beta is running on an iPhone 4S, not sure if that makes a difference, still waiting to hear back from our developer source.
Could this mean eventually Apple will permanently separate the two? Or is this just there for developers? This may not be a surprise to everyone but it’s definitely notable. If Apple does move the Podcasts app, could this mean less exposure from users just browsing iTunes? Maybe Apple intends on making the new Podcast app native in iOS 6.
What do you think?
