Apple has announced OS 27, a broad operating system that affects features across the company’s hardware and software products. In the podcast realm, OS 27 affects several aspects of video podcasts, auto-download features, and Apple TV. The podcast listening + viewing experience receives improved features. Video podcast playback is dramatically expanded to Apple Podcasts on Mac, and Apple TV.
On the Apple Mac, video podcasts will be presented in picture-in-picture format, allowing podcast video to float on the screen while the user is multitasking. Perhaps most significantly (and in recognition of the TV as a major podcast delivery platform), the Podcasts app on Apple TV is getting a top-to-bottom redesign — it includes new sidebar navigation for easier content browsing and dedicated support for the full episode and display of artwork on the bigMac OS screen. A “smart downloads” system has been developed for Apple TV; it automatically manages local device storage by downloading and caching relevant content behind the scenes.
None of this will hit screens until a public beta-test period scheduled for July. The official rollout will occur in the fall.
