episode download, full screen and integrated ads

Apple has announced a significant update to Apple Podcasts that adds native support for video podcasts. The new experience, based on HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology, will allow users to switch between audio and video, view episodes in full screen in landscape orientation and download them for consumption without an internet connection.

Automatic quality adjustments ensure smooth playback regardless of network status, adapting to both WiFi and mobile connections. Video episodes integrate with existing features in Apple Podcasts, such as personalized recommendations, editorial curation, and automatic transcriptions.

Apple arrives late to the video podcast war, but with a different proposal

Don’t lose sight of the context: YouTube has become the dominant platform for video podcasts, to the point that many creators consider it their main distribution channel. Spotify has also been betting on the format for years with million-dollar investments. Apple is late to this battlebut it does so with a proposal that differs in a key aspect: control.

Unlike YouTube, where the algorithm decides the reach of the content and the platform takes a significant part of the advertising revenue, on Apple Podcasts creators remain in full control about your audience, your metrics and your monetization. Distribution is via participating ad networks and hosting providers such as Acast, Amazon’s ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio, and SiriusXM, which already support HLS at launch.

The business model also deserves attention. Apple will not charge creators or hosting platforms anything to distribute video content, whether through traditional RSS/MP3 or via HLS. However, yes it will charge advertising networks an impression-based fee for the distribution of dynamic video ads, something it will implement later this year. For the first time, creators will be able to dynamically insert video ads, including those read by the presenter, thus accessing a broader advertising market without losing creative autonomy.

Twenty years later, Apple regains its pioneering role in podcasts

It is worth remembering that Apple was the one who popularized the modern podcast ecosystem in 2005, when it incorporated them into iTunes. For years, however, the company stood relatively still as Spotify invested billions in exclusive content and technology. This update can be read as a attempt to regain prominence in a medium that, in part, she herself created.

The technology behind this novelty is HLS, Apple’s own standard for adaptive content transmission. Unlike simply “uploading a video,” HLS automatically adjusts streaming quality in real time based on available bandwidth to avoid outages, even when coverage is low or the network is poor.

The feature is available today in beta versions of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4 and visionOS 26.4. It is scheduled to arrive to the general public later this year, and will also arrive on Apple Podcasts on the web. The Apple Podcasts catalog, available in more than 170 countries, covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, CarPlay and Vision Pro. You also have it on the web, which allows you to use this app from a browser, both on Windows and Android.