Google has done once again what it is infamous for – killed another one of its services — Google Podcasts service. First, there was Google Listen, then there was Google Play Music Podcasts, and finally, podcasts got it’s own standalone app called Google Podcasts. Now it is being replaced with YouTube Music. As Google Podcasts is going to end by September 2024, we have explored the podcast experience on the YouTube Music app. Here’s what we like and dislike after switching to YouTube Music from Google Podcasts.
Table of Contents
1. Podcast Library
Google can replace one podcast service by introducing another, but are all the channels users have subscribed to on Google podcasts available on YouTube Music? Nope. YouTube Music only has podcasts that are uploaded to YouTube. Though most Google Podcasts channels are available on YouTube Music too, you can find a few channels missing at least for now.
But YouTube Music can easily compensate for it as you get all podcast videos from YouTube on YouTube Music. Apart from standard podcast channels, you will also find analysis videos, reviews, discussions, interviews, opinions, and a way lot more. We found they gel well with the existing podcasts making the YouTube Music library unique compared to other podcast apps.
2. User Interface and Experience
This is definitely a major change that many people may face a problem with when switching to YouTube Music. Google Podcasts has a minimal UI which was one of the key reasons why many people prefer it over other podcast apps.
Podcasts on YouTube Music on the other hand are mixed with music. It also suggests a mix of audio podcasts and video podcasts, not to forget many podcast-style YouTube videos are also suggested in between. However, it can also be seen as a benefit since you have different types of content and media in one app. Nonetheless, both podcast apps offer different experience.
3. Search Capability
As expected, Google Podcasts only have podcasts thus making the search more simple and straightforward.
Whereas a search on YouTube Music includes songs, albums, and artists, along with podcasts, podcast episodes, and podcast playlists. More options are good but can be overwhelming for new users.
We actually like the search on YouTube Music more than Google Podcasts. The latter only shows results when the search is exactly the same as the podcast or channel title. You can search for anything on YouTube Music just like YouTube, and the service will show relevant episodes and podcasts in the search results. This makes it easy to discover new podcast channels that talk about the topics we love to listen to.
4. Recommendations
Speaking about discoverability, YouTube Music recommends podcasts according to your taste. Also, as mentioned in the above point, it has a better search that can recommend related podcasts and channels according to your search and listening history. If you are open to finding new channels and podcasts, YouTube Music is the only way to go.
On the other hand, Google Podcasts only shows episodes from the channels you are subscribed to. Though there is an Explore page, it shows trending podcasts rather than offering personalized recommendations.
5. Subscriptions
If you like a podcast channel, you can subscribe to it on both apps. However, subscribing to a channel on YouTube Music will also subscribe to that channel on YouTube. Apart from that, every podcast on YouTube Music will be in its parent podcast playlist. So instead of subscribing to the channel, you can save the playlist on YouTube Music.
Here is how both the services are different in channels. On Google Podcasts, the creator can create a channel and upload podcasts on that channel. Users can subscribe to that channel and get the latest episodes on their home page.
Whereas on YouTube Music, creators with YouTube channels can create podcast playlists. Then they can upload episodes to that playlist. This makes it easy for creators to start different podcast series with the same account also benefitting the users. If they prefer a series on any channel, they can simply save that specific playlist without ever seeing recommendations for other series on that channel.
6. New Episodes
Speaking about notifications, Google Podcasts has the option to enable notifications for new episodes on any preferred channel. Also, when you subscribe to a channel, you can check their latest episodes on the Google Podcasts home page.
It works completely differently on YouTube Music. Firstly, you get recommendations based on the podcasts you listen to rather than the podcast playlists you follow or channels you are subscribed to. To check the latest episodes from the series you like, open the Library section, select Podcasts at the top, and then open New Episodes playlist. It is an auto-playlist which means it will update the latest episodes automatically.
7. Saving Podcasts for Later
Apart from saving playlists to a library, you can also save podcasts to the library. Just tap on the bookmark icon beside any podcast to save in your library. You can access these saved playlists from Library > Podcasts and select the Episodes for later playlists. This is also an auto-playlist that saves all the posts you have saved for later.
Saving podcasts works similarly on Google Podcasts too. Just tap on the Add to Queue option beside the podcast to listen to it later.
8. Auto-Download and Auto-Delete
Though both services have the option to download podcasts, only Google Podcasts have the option to download the latest episodes automatically. YouTube Music does the same for music with the smart downloads feature. So there is a pretty good chance that we may get the auto-download and auto-delete for podcasts too. Fingers crossed.
9. Video Podcasts
Podcasts are not only just audio anymore with YouTube podcasts. While you can consume the audio version, you can also see the video conversation if you prefer. This is a massive advantage of YouTube Music over not just Google Podcasts but many other podcast apps.
10. Podcast Player
Finally, coming to the player, both Google Podcasts and YouTube Music Podcasts offer similar features like sleep timer, playback speed, etc. While the sleep timer on Google Podcast allows you to set any custom time, sleep timer on YouTube Music only allows you to select a time from available listed options.
However, podcasts on YouTube Music have even more features like comments, likes and dislikes, related podcasts section, save to any playlist you want, etc.
Is YouTube Music Ready for Podcast Users
YouTube Music definitely has its advantages with video podcasts like a unique library, comments, better search, etc. All these can be useful for many podcast listeners and viewers. However, Google Podcast is more of a minimal, channel-focused podcast service, which YouTube Music isn’t trying to be. Finally, we can say YouTube Music is definitely good for some podcast users but may not replicate what Google Podcast users want.
