5 tricks to take advantage of Google Podcasts

Google finally enters the world of podcasts with an app for Android that we could consider the official one, which has been Podcast on iOS. Although with a design that is too simple and still with room for improvement - the absence of an automatic shutdown timer is inexcusable- the Google application also brings with it new features and some very practical actions compared to other Android apps focused on podcasts. We see some tricks and tips from the recent launch of Google.

Start listening in one place and continue in another

One of the advantages of being the official Google app for podcasts is that we can start listening to a program on a device, for For example, our smartphone, and if we leave it for a period and then open the app on another Android device such as a tablet or Google Home speakers, we will be able to continue listening right where we left off on the other Just by having our Gmail account registered on those devices, it will recognize the account and all those devices will be synchronized. We will not only be able to continue listening started on another Android terminal, but also see the saved episodes or the recommendations based on listening from other devices.

Adjust playback speed

Sometimes we have the problem that we want to listen to a program and we don't have the time it lasts. For those occasions or others in which we have a pile of podcasts to listen to, Google Podcasts offers the option of increasing the playback speed. If we do it moderating the speed well, the way we hear it will hardly change, the voices will continue to be heard normal and we will save time by listening to it a little faster, something that reduces us a lot of timeWhile listening to a podcast, we open the player controls and then tap the 1.0x icon in the bottom left corner. A speed slider will appear that we can use to set your preferred multiplier. We recommend starting with 1.1x or 1.2x. We can always level up if we want to go faster. If you want to slow down the listening, you can also slide the slider in the opposite direction to do so.

Download episodes for offline listening

Nothing happens if we are going to catch a flight or we are in an offline area We can download the episodes we want to listen to by touching the download icon. Then, by going to the Downloads tab we can find them there ready to listen to them, whether or not we have a connection.

Search from outside the app

Although Google Podcasts has its own search engine, also when searching from the browser through Google we will see results that just by clicking will open the link directly in the application Podcasts This is especially useful when we are looking for a topic about which we don't know there are podcasts and the search engine shows them to us. Then by entering that link we will see how that podcast opens in the app.

Use a different podcast app

While Google Podcasts will probably get better over time, let's face it: It's an overly limited app right now For example, we can't download automatically new episodes of subscribed podcasts; we must search for them manually. The app also doesn't support playlists, doesn't offer global settings for most features, doesn't have car or night mode, and as we mentioned before, doesn't have a sleep timer. All this means that it has a long way to go and, for now, there are more complete applications to manage podcasts. Podcast Addict, iVoox or Podcast Go are more complete and very interesting options