Podcasting got its name from Apple’s iPod products. But when Apple released the first iPhone, it didn’t bother offering a standalone app for podcasts. Instead if you wanted to download internet radio programs to your device you used the Music app.

But the Music app for iOS has never made downloading or managing podcasts all that easy.

Now Apple has finally introduced an official Podcasts app for iOS 5.1 and later.

Podcasts for iOS

You can use the app to browse a catalog of thousands of podcasts and download audio or video shows to your device. You can subscribe to podcasts to automatically grab new episodes when they’re available.

Podcasts for iOS lets you stream audio over an internet connection or download podcasts to your device so you can listen even when you don’t have an internet connection.

You can sync your podcasts with iTunes on a Mac or PC, but that’s entirely optional. You can also sync your playback progress between device so you can start listening on your iPhone and pick up where you left off using an iPad or other device.

Brad Linder

Brad Linder is editor of Liliputing and Mobiputing. He's been tinkering with mobile tech for decades and writing about it since...