In a bid to outdo streaming giants such as YouTube and Spotify, Apple Podcast has received an improved upgrade that will allow users to switch between watching and listening to shows in the Apple Podcasts app.
With this update, the app will start using the company’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) video technology, enabling users to switch to a horizontal variant of the podcast and download videos even in offline mode, when the internet is not working.
The move comes as video podcasting continues to garner significant attention worldwide.
The updated video podcast experience will enable Apple to compete with the likes of Spotify, Netflix, and even YouTube.
In 2025, YouTube announced that it has successfully become a family of one billion monthly viewers of podcast content.
Meanwhile, the Swedish-music streaming giant stated that it has reached half a million video podcasts, of which nearly 400 million users have already watched it.
With this upgrade, the Cupertino-based tech giant aims to keep theitr viewers adhered to its app, instead of turning to it's rivals to watch their favourite podcasts.
Apple’s senior vice president of Services, Eddy Cue, “Twenty years ago, Apple helped make podcasting mainstream by adding podcasts to iTunes, and more than a decade ago, we introduced the dedicated Apple Podcasts app.”
“Today marks a defining milestone in that journey. By bringing a category-leading video experience to Apple Podcasts, we’re putting creators in full control of their content and how they build their businesses, while making it easier than ever for audiences to listen to or watch podcasts,” Eddy added.
