Google Podcasts is now history

Google Podcasts had a slow start, launching in 2018 as a Play Store app. It took no less than two years for the iOS version to launch as well. However, this app was the first podcast player with Google Home integration. Unfortunately, its story came to an end yesterday, when the service was officially shut down in the US (will suffer the same fate in the rest of the world later this year). This wasn't an unexpected event, since Google announced the move it back in September 2023.

Existing users who missed the news so far shouldn't worry of losing anything yet. Until July, they can still access Google Podcasts and export any subscriptions they might have. They also shouldn't worry about lookin for an alternative, because YouTube Music can be used to carry on. The export procedure is very simple, as Google Podcasts has an Export to YouTube Music option in the Settings area.

Google was busy in the podcasts market for a while, but settling for a single service seems like a tough job. Google Listen was the company's first effort in this area, with a rather short life (2009-2012). Google Play Music Podcasts was available between 2016 and 2020, so it even competed against its sibling between 2018 and 2020. Now, there's YouTube Podcasts. For now, this is nothing more than a subsection in YouTube on the web or in the YouTube Music app.

On Google Play, the Google Podcasts app holds a 4.5/5 rating and has been downloaded by more than 500 million times. There are quite a few popular alternatives with higher ratings, such as Castbox, Podbean, or Podcast Republic.

Amazon currently has a $40 coupon available for those who buy the Podcast Equipment Bundle for 2 by Squarock which consists of a Commander M100 mixer, two microphones, cables, and even two pairs of earbuds. The full price tag reads $189, so the coupon will take it down to $149.