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b0tch7 | 3 years ago

> Apple has controlled the podcast industry through the iTunes podcast directory since day one.

> They ARE the podcast industry. And they’ve been open.

Hmmm is this really true? I've been listening to podcasts since 2012ish which puts me fairly early in the adoption curve and I've never used iTunes once (always been PocketCasts on Android).

Anyway, just another f'ing reason to NOT go all-in on Apple. Apple Podcasts kinda sucks? The few times I do use it as a directory to grab a link to send to a iOS-using friend, i just hate it. Search sucks, linking to a specific episode sucks, discoverability sucks.

I love my '22 M1 MBP I get from work, but it's the only Apple device I own. I just cannot stand this type of closed-system tactics, especially when their offering is so much worse than alternatives (don't get me started on iMessage or Safari)

discuss

simonh|3 years ago

>> They ARE the podcast industry. And they’ve been open. >Hmmm is this really true?

They’ve accounted for the vast majority of podcast listeners since the early iPod days. It’s literally why they are called podcasts. They only dipped below 50% of listeners relatively recently.

rhaway84773|3 years ago

Both podcasts and the term podcast predated Apple’s support of podcasts. The reason it was named as such was because iPods were the most popular listening device for podcasts.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast

bongobingo1|3 years ago

Wonder what they're called in the alternate universes? Zunecasts? (mp)3casts?

karel_3d|3 years ago

The "pod" in "podcasts" stands for iPod.

They even C&D the original podcast app, because it was named iPodder.

"Apple Takes Podcasting Mainstream" in 2005.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2005/06/28Apple-Takes-Podcast...

peoplefromibiza|3 years ago

> The "pod" in "podcasts" stands for iPod.

Yes, but it wasn't invented by Apple, but by a BBC Journalist, who had nothing to do with Apple.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p038m811

As per Wikipedia page:

The term "podcast" predates Apple's addition of podcasting features to the iPod and the iTunes software.