Overcast 2024.11.1

I wish I could go back to the old version. The new one hasn't provided any end-user benefits ('til this new feature, at least) but was very buggy at release and still has some stunning bugs, like not reliably playing the next episode when the current episode finishes, or spontaneously marking listened-to episodes as not listened-to. And simply losing track of where playback was paused. i.e. the most very basic functions of a podcast player.

Listening to ATP, it sounds like Marco's having a lot more fun with his new Overcast, but he might be the only one. 😔

@Wade As I’ve mentioned, I’m also using Apple Podcasts, to keep a separate set of podcasts for family car rides. And, even in that light use, I’ve run into bugs where it forgets the playback position and also where the displayed playback position doesn’t match the actual position being played. The most very basic functions, as you say.

These days, I find Pocket Casts the most reliable and most intuitive in its playlist management.

Price hike on this terrible Overcast iteration that has everyone downvoting it in the store is a serious 4D chess move. 🤦‍♂️

I gather that the consensus is that the CEO of Automattic is not doing good things?

There is a way how to get old IPAs using older version of iTunes and Windows. And you can just airdrop the app as it has valid receipt. However, you need to disable auto-updating.

I never really liked Overcast when I was looking after Apple redesigned Podcasts a few (5?) years ago and I wanted to find a better app. The interface was weird and never clicked with me (and that's not to mention I don't like Marco generally). And now that he messed up OC with a redesign (rule number 1 of software development is never rewrite, just keep slowly improving) sounds like I made a smart decision.

So I went with PocketCasts and have been super happy. It has a great interface (way better than Apple's) and the sync is awesome. I pay for the premium version which seems worth it. And so far the new company has not made it worse.

Another happy PocketCasts user here. I have tried Overcast a few times to see what all the hype is about, and never liked it. There is probably something good about it that I cannot see it. The interface is inferior to others, and the recent update has made it even worse. Not sure if the price increase was a good idea, when most of the users are not happy with the redesign.

I've been unhappy with the new version for most of the same reasons as Wade. What used to be a very reliable podcasting app has become a very unreliable podcasting app. I've happily paid for the app since it came out, and been very content with Overcast. This new version has made me rethink using it. I'll have to check out the competition before my sub renews.

I liked the old UI, and I've gotten used to the new UI. It's fine. I can handle UI changes, but I've been very frustrated with the bugs. Swift UI still seems like a net loss for the Apple ecosystem to me.

My playlists are still broken in the new Overcast, as settings marking podcasts as “priority” get ignored.

Part of my frustration with Overcast is that Marco seems to take pride in providing the absolute worst customer service. One of the things I really enjoy from being a paying costumer of so many single developers is that they tend to be very responsive, particularly if a problem is described carefully. Even when they can’t solve it, at least you know they considered it.

Not so with Marco. I’ve been a paying costumer from day one, and as far as I can tell he can’t care less about the problems I’m having with his app.

I very carefully have been avoiding updating Overcast, so I still have the mostly-reliable version from before July 2024. It’s a pain to not be able to say Update All, but having a podcast app that can’t play podcasts properly would be more of a pain.
I’m hoping some day that those who manage to stick it out instead of jumping ship will say publicly “it finally remembers where you left off in a podcast, and the Apple Watch sync is back to working.” Then I can update.
What worries me is that syncing playback location between Watch and iPhone have been off a few times lately. I’m hoping that’s just part of the general flakiness of Apple Watch connectivity and syncing, not some encroachment of buggy new code on the Overcast servers or something.

Is it just my luck that every time I find something I like it slowly gets worse? I've been subscribing to Overcast for years, but it has taken such a bad turn this year. I finally had to cancel the sub. I wasn't even sure I wanted to continue paying $10 a year for an app that has gotten substantially worse, but 50% more is just too much.

Just like all software, nothing actually seems to be getting any better. All the options just float between varying degrees of bad. Maybe I'll finally just try Apple's Podcast app and drink the kool-aid. Podcasts in general have gotten less interesting and more fragmented anyway.

@Marek
I'm so far out of the iOS ecosystems these days, but does Mac OS not still provide a way of downloading apps to it then syncing with iOS devices? Or did the iTunes splintering break all of that cool sauce that actually made iTunes worthwhile for iOS device management? Is that why it only works on Windows versions of iTunes?!?

I used to download all my apps on the Mac because then I could archive older versions if I wanted, whereas I could not on iOS devices directly.