Now Hear This: Overcast Brings Offline Podcasts to Apple Watch

With Overcast 3.1, you can send individual podcasts to the Apple Watch for offline listening. To date, Apple’s Podcasts app still doesn’t do this, although you can send a playlist of audio files from the Music app. In other words, this is a big deal if you would like listening to podcast while on a walk or run and rather not carry around your phone.

To listen to offline podcasts on your Apple Watch using Overcast, you’ll first need to download the episode to your iPhone. Once you do, go to the Queue menu (⁺≡) and select “Send to Watch.” Pending transfers show on the Downloads screen.

Briefly playing around with the new offline podcasts feature, I noticed that there’s a slight delay between the time you select “Send to Apple Watch” from the app and when the podcast becomes available on the watch.

I also noticed that your play state doesn’t sync back to the iPhone like it probably should. Neither one of these issues is a deal breaker, at least when you consider the weaker alternatives. Nonetheless, I’d expect a future Overcast app update to address these issues.

Apple recently rebranded its iTunes Podcasts directory. It’s now called Apple Podcasts. The change suggests that Cupertino could be rethinking how it handles podcasts across its many platforms.

Overcast is available for free on the App Store. For $9.99 per year, you can buy a subscription that removes ads and unlocks some minor features, including a new black mode. You can buy a $9.99 annual subscription that removes ads and adds some minor features, including a new black icon.

Neither one of these issues is a deal breaker, at least when you consider the weaker alternatives. Nonetheless, I’d expect you’ll see a future Overcast app address these issues.

Overcast is available for free on the App Store. You can buy a $9.99 annual subscription that removes ads and adds some minor features, including a new black icon.