Google Podcasts Fades Out as Focus Shifts to YouTube Music for Podcast Integration
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Google Podcasts launched in 2018 as a straightforward podcast app with AI ambitions like automatic transcripts and translating shows. But many features never materialized.
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Google brought podcast search to Google Search in 2019, allowing episodes to surface alongside web results. But this was discontinued in 2023.
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Google Podcasts received regular but minor updates, with the last major revamp happening in August 2021. After that, feature development effectively ceased.
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In 2023, YouTube Music launched podcasts support. Shortly after, Google announced Google Podcasts would shut down on April 2, 2024.
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The author argues YouTube Music is not as easy to use as Google Podcasts was. But most people seem fine with music and podcasts in one app. The transition has not started well so far.