Ask Lemmy @lemmy.world neidu3 @sh.itjust.works 12h ago

Which podcast player do you use for android?

I'm currently looking for a replacement to castbox. Castbox us OK, but I want to learn what else good is out there. Bonus points for one that has movement-sensitive sleep timer the way Smart AudioBook Player has.

UPDATE: Testing out Antennapod. Looks nice, and seems to do what I want it to do. I need to experiment with the auto-download a bit and see if it behaves the way I want it to. If it does, we have a winner.

36 comments

Audiobookshelf, because I self host my audiobooks and it supports podcasts as well. This way I have them available anywhere, it allows me to have control over my podcasts and I don't have to worry about anyone shutting down the service unexpectedly.
- How do you self host audiobooks if you don't mind my asking? As in where do you get them? Are there reputable places to buy them for download, or are you somehow extracting from audible/libby/etc?
AntennaPod
podcast addict, I cannot believe how customizable and useful it is.

I tried it, it blew my socks off, I've been using it ever since.
- Same here. It's been my podcast client for years. Maybe a decade now? It's amazing.
- Same, I really couldn't switch to anything else at this point
Just want to throw out Podverse, it can support a lot of the podcasting 2.0 standards.
antennapod, best in town
- I migrated to antennapod after Google killed their podcast app.
  
  Antenna pod has a few persistent and annoying bug/quirks.
  
  If you're streaming it will often skip forward/backward in time by anywhere from 0.5 to 30-45 seconds when it downloads the next segment. I've seen this across a bunch of different podcasts. Conan needs a friend, stuff you should know, this American life, etc. There's been quite a bit of activity on their forums about this, along with a few attempted fixes, but the problem persists for me
  
  I somehow wound up with 1+ GB of podcasts despite Auto delete turned on. This is potentially due to the prior bullet. I've had podcasts end early (on time) and also run 5 minutes past their end-timd
  
  The Android Auto interface is not great. The home screen pop-in, or whatever it's called, will randomly show you 3 podcasts from something you're subscribed to
  
  I also find the interface somewhat odd.
  
  You have an inbox, which is basically a running feed of new episodes from your subscriptions. You can play those directly, remove them from your feed, or add them to a queue. You can then do the exact same thing from the queue. I would either make the inbox dumber and keep the queue or flatten the queue and inbox.
  
  The app is also massively customizable, which is cool, but some of the customizations interact with other things. Downloading from your inbox can add a podcast to your queue. Deleting from downloads, which is a fourth area of the app, can remove them from your queue.
  
  I do generally like the app, and also like the idea of FOSS, but I suspect there are better commercial options out there.
  
  I've encountered the problem in your first bullet across multiple podcast apps. I think it might be more of a general Android issue instead of being specific to a single app.
  
  The problem is that everyone seems to have a different workflow. I've used AntennaPod every day for years and I have a bunch of problems with it that are all different from yours! I've also got a couple of others fixed and features added by lobbying for them on the issue tracker BTW.
  
  I suspect there are better commercial options out there
  
  Not so sure, I've tried a bunch. Used Doggcatcher for years: not as advanced. Also PocketCasts for years at one point: this had better UX but when I tried it again recently I was underwhelmed and found it was missing things I wanted.
  
  The main issue with the commercial clients is that they're all desperately trying to become platforms, with obligatory sign-in and data harvesting. Typically by using cloud sync as the bait.
- Antennapod is really nice. But are there good apps on desktop to sync to? I used plex before, which made it very easy to listen on any device
  
  You could sync your podcasts to your phone using Syncthing.
  
  Well antennapod supports syncing to "gpodder.net" which has the clue in the name "gpodder" is a desktop app for podcasts.
  
  I've had a few issues before with syncing with gpodder.net but the gpodder API running as a nextcloud app works like a charm.
I've been using Podcast Addict for years and still like it. Has a lot of features.
- This is what I use. Never had a problem and I love the auto download and removal features for subscribed podcasts.
- Same. I genuenly can't thing of a single issue I've ever had with it.
I personally found Antina Pod to be too busy, but I really enjoy one called EscapePod (fdroid).
I've been using Pocket Casts for many many years and like it...but never really researched anything else.
- Great app, feature full. I bought that one ages ago
- Same, I also bought the premium years ago. I don't know if I'm grandfathered in now, but it looks like there is a subscription option now that I won't get, but the features and interface are nice. Sleep timer, silence scrubbing, speed control.
I migrated from Doggcatcher to Podcast Addict a couple years ago. They're both OK. Most podcast apps are unnecessarily complex, convoluted and cumbersome to me, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Lately I've been testing Media Monkey - it's primarily an iTunes-like app for Android. It indexes your own media store, and can sync whatever you choose to your phone. It also has a podcast tool in the desktop app.

Downside is the podcast portion doesn't seem to have discovery/search like you'd think with a podcast app - you have to manually add the RSS url yourself. Plus to get wifi sync (which is critical to me), you have to buy both the desktop ($35) and Android app ($5). I get it, development isn't free, and wifi sync really works. I don't buy many apps, but I paid for both parts of Media Monkey, because I haven't found anything else that provides media management, playlist, and sync.
- Keep an eye on your media volume with Media Monkey. I've been using the Windows and Android versions for years, but I've noticed that a lot of my music is getting quieter.
  
  I haven't been able to narrow it down to Media Monkey or something else yet, but MM is the most likely culprit, as it's the only media player I use.
  
  I've ripped CDs with the same settings as other CDs, and the files play back much quieter than the other ripped CDs and the CD they were ripped from.
Antennapod, absolutely amazing app.
Used to be on antennapod. Now on pocketcast. Both FOSS.
Call me basic, but since I have a Spotify subscription for music, I just use it for podcasts, too.
- But you can't find non-spotify podcasts, right?
  
  I assume not, but they have a huge selection of podcasts
I was lucky enough to get locked in on the lifetime license of Pocket casts so that's what I use it's a really good player. It also has a sleep timer and you can shake the phone to restart it
Probably a little less of what you're looking for, but the Audiobookshelf player in combination with a self hosted ABS instance works great for me.
Podcini, got it on f-droid. Does what it says on the tin!
- I like podcini. Could use a bit of love in the design department. It looks amateuristic at first sight but it's solid
Is there any podcast app that supports adblocker/sponsorblock?
I switched from Google Podcasts to Podcast Guru when Google Podcasts shut down. It seems ok so far.
Vlc

36 comments