Podverse

Podverse is now available on iPad and Android tablet 🥳

Download 4.7.0 from the App Store or Google Play today!

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/podverse/id1390888454

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.podverse&hl=en_US&gl=US

‎Podverse

‎Free features: * CarPlay * Subscribe to podcasts * Auto-download episodes * Video playback * Livestream playback * Drag-and-drop queue * Boostagrams (V4V) * Streaming Value (V4V) * Podcasting 2.0 chapters * Podcasting 2.0 transcripts * Podcasting 2.0 cross-app comments * Screen-reader accessibility…

App Store
Nov 21, 2022 at 3:09amWeb
Show threadPodverseNov 21, 2022
F-Droid coming soon...we published this version to F-Droid, but it takes ~a week to get reviewed and deployed.
Show threadPodverseNov 21, 2022
The tablet design still needs more work to make better use of the extra screen space. If there are any #UX experts out there who could help advise on a design we'd appreciate your help!
Show threadJordan KanarekNov 21, 2022
@podverse I’ve got some spare cycles. I’ll take a look tonight.
Show threadJordan KanarekNov 21, 2022

@podverse

1. Cold start problem.
Issue: The default loading state is my subscribed podcasts, sorted A-Z. That’s probably useful if I have bunch of podcasts already added, but to a new or logged-out user it’s just a big empty screen. This experience is duplicated when I go to look at episodes or clips as well.

Show threadJordan KanarekNov 21, 2022

@podverse

Solution: On your web app the default view is a category navigation feature that allows me to identify a podcast to listen to. At a minimum, consider making the default view of the “podcasts” tab: “All Podcasts” sorted by “top - month”.

Note that this is an imperfect solution. This is something of a privacy invasion and also easily gamed. Perhaps related, I’m seeing some fairly polarizing content (i.e. Steve Bannon) in these top charts.

Show threadJordan KanarekNov 21, 2022
@podverse Another solution is to identify a 3rd party data source. Not saying this is the one but something like https://podcharts.co/charts/us/2022-11-21/allcategories. This would help a wider range of users onboard effectively.
Podcharts - Track your podcast rankings

View podcast charts by day, country and category. Get notified when your podcast is in the top charts.

Show threadJordan KanarekNov 21, 2022

@podverse

2. Subscribe button gets lost.

Issue: the thing that’s going to keep people coming back to the app is an ongoing feed of great podcast content. But the subscribe button is dark blue on black.

Solution: Increase the size and contrast of this button.

Show threadPodverseNov 21, 2022
@jordan good idea, and easy to do. Thank you
Show threadPodverseNov 21, 2022
@jordan good point on the “cold start” UX problem. No other podcast apps I know of do this…but we’re committed to being as impartial with content as we can, and that includes not recommending podcasts as the default landing experience. The category tiles are meant to at least make the user make a decision about which content they would like to see. Our “popularity” metrics are entirely gameable by anyone with the initiative, so we try to deemphasoze them in the UX.
Show threadPodverseNov 21, 2022

@jordan but I agree the “cold start” is a detriment to the UX. Maybe we could integrate with 3rd party data after all on cold start, and say something like “rankings brought to you by X” so people know it’s not us specifically doing the ranking.

Part of the difficulty is we’re trying to prioritize principles of unbiased-ness over UX, but there has to be a better options than our cold start. We’ll think about it more, thank you.

Show threadScott JensonNov 21, 2022
@podverse I'm happy to take a peek, where should I be looking?
Show threadPodverseNov 21, 2022

@scottjenson thank you! The app is currently available for mobile and tablet on the App Store or Google Play.

We just released the tablet version, and at this point it is mostly just the mobile design filling the tablet screen responsively.

I think the player screen and the mini-player widget have the most glaring need since the text is so tiny, but feedback on any screens or aspects of the app would be appreciated.

Show threadPodverseNov 21, 2022
@scottjenson we have considered splitting the app experience into a side-by-side experience...basically showing the "player component" at all times on one side, then navigating the rest of the app like in the mobile view on the other side. I'm not totally sure how that would work though.
Show threadScott JensonNov 21, 2022
@podverse You've got it, you don't need me. It *is* a lot of work to get it right. Step back, think about how you'd like to do it on a desktop app (to break you out of thinking too small) after a few sketches there, THEN go back to your app. For example, there is a lot of hierarchy in your app that ignores my subscriptions. I could see Podcast -> Episodes -> Clips being much more tightly grouped into a single space (I *don't* want to say this lightly! Just brainstorming)
Show threadPodverseNov 21, 2022
@scottjenson interesting, if we somehow group Podcasts / Episodes / Clips together that could free up space for other tabs…we’ll work on some new designs soon! Thanks again :)
Show threadScott JensonNov 21, 2022
@podverse Oh, sorry, I missed your earlier post. I'll just download the app
Show threadScott JensonNov 21, 2022

@podverse Just did a quick scan. The app is a reasonable port to tablet but as you say, it mostly just 'expands to fill the space'. I've worked on Mobile -> Tablet ports and it's exactly the opposite of Desktop -> Mobile ports, which ruthlessly squeeze things out of the app.

For a tablet app, the right thing to do is expand the navigation/layout to make things easier. Hard to summarize in a single post but it's NOT just 'prettier layout tricks'.

Show threadPodverseNov 21, 2022
@scottjenson ok good start thank you. I’ll rethink the navigation along with the other elements. There’s so many things that can change it’s a lot to think about but should be fun.