Reviews of Podverse - Podcast Player

By: Podverse App

List of user reviews and ratings for Podverse - Podcast Player

Total ratings

4.43 (Rating count: 1,143)

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Review summary

Users appreciate Podverse's support for Podcasting 2.0 features and its open source model, but many reviews highlight severe performance issues including extreme lag, buggy subscription functions, frequent crashes, and unreliable offline playback. Android Auto functionality is also problematic. The app has a nice UI but these technical issues significantly impact user experience, leading to frustration and users switching to alternatives.

Pros

Supports Podcasting 2.0 features appreciated by users
Open source nature is valued by some users
UI design looks well designed and appealing to some users
Ad-free experience compared to some other podcast apps

Cons

App is extremely slow to load and respond to user actions
Offline playback does not work properly; downloaded episodes often fail to play without internet
Subscription and podcast addition features are buggy or do not function reliably
App experiences crashes and bugs frequently, causing loss of playback position
Android Auto integration is poor or intrusive, causing issues while driving

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User Reviews

Recent rating average: 1.70

All time rating average: 4.43

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59% (13)

Date	Author	Comment
2025-01-30	Ma*****	Fails at many levels: does not download new episodes as needed, can't even find the new episode after it's played the content. The UI has so much lag it's frustrating to use. There's even a feature that displays the summary from a different podcast when intending to read the second page details for an episode of any given podcast. A complete failure & disappointment.
Fails at many levels: does not download new episodes as needed, can't even find the new episode after it's played the content. The UI has so much lag it's frustrating to use. There's even a feature that displays the summary from a different podcast when intending to read the second page details for an episode of any given podcast. A complete failure & disappointment.
2025-01-06	My*****	Awful Shadow Banning of Podcasters that don't fit your narrative. Even after logging in and downloading the content refuses to play, when others work fine, stop blocking the Richie Allen Show! Looking for a better podcasting app at podcasting2.0 dot com. At least the god father and inventor of podcasting Adam Currie knows the deal, 6x guest on Joe Rogan.
Awful Shadow Banning of Podcasters that don't fit your narrative. Even after logging in and downloading the content refuses to play, when others work fine, stop blocking the Richie Allen Show! Looking for a better podcasting app at podcasting2.0 dot com. At least the god father and inventor of podcasting Adam Currie knows the deal, 6x guest on Joe Rogan.
2024-09-23	St*****	Android Auto Issues, app works great except for an issue when connected to Android Auto where it constantly pops up regardless of what other app is open. Uninstalling.
Android Auto Issues, app works great except for an issue when connected to Android Auto where it constantly pops up regardless of what other app is open. Uninstalling.
2024-09-10	Sk*****	I was unable to search by title of podcast to add to library a second podcast. The tutorial menu item link fails does not work. After delete the first added podcast was able to add find and add more than one podcast - weird This google podcast refugee will stick with podcastguru. Lacking some features I want, eg, create custom podcast opml list to share with friends.
I was unable to search by title of podcast to add to library a second podcast. The tutorial menu item link fails does not work. After delete the first added podcast was able to add find and add more than one podcast - weird This google podcast refugee will stick with podcastguru. Lacking some features I want, eg, create custom podcast opml list to share with friends.
2024-08-28	Pa*****	Its sooooo slow!!! Loading/streaming apps can easily take 15 sec to respond to just open a podcast channel and another 15 sec to start playing. AD management is trash. Constantly skipping large sections of a podcast, backtracking or even ending minutes early. Rewinding also seems to mess this up horribly as well. Super slow to load new episode lists of podcasts. I don't really enjoy the UI but it is what it is and I manage. I still miss Goggle Podcasts but I've stuck with this one the longest.
Its sooooo slow!!! Loading/streaming apps can easily take 15 sec to respond to just open a podcast channel and another 15 sec to start playing. AD management is trash. Constantly skipping large sections of a podcast, backtracking or even ending minutes early. Rewinding also seems to mess this up horribly as well. Super slow to load new episode lists of podcasts. I don't really enjoy the UI but it is what it is and I manage. I still miss Goggle Podcasts but I've stuck with this one the longest.
2024-06-11	Ab*****	I'd like to use and support it since it's open source, but I didn't have a great experience with it. 1. I wanted something that would let me download and enqueue episodes repeatedly for when i sleep. But once an episode has played, to enqueue I need to find it in the podcast feed. I can't just readd it from downloads. 2. Intuitive actions don't work or work inconsistently (long press to see context menu works in some views, not in others). 3. It's slow: to startup, and to perform some actions.
I'd like to use and support it since it's open source, but I didn't have a great experience with it. 1. I wanted something that would let me download and enqueue episodes repeatedly for when i sleep. But once an episode has played, to enqueue I need to find it in the podcast feed. I can't just readd it from downloads. 2. Intuitive actions don't work or work inconsistently (long press to see context menu works in some views, not in others). 3. It's slow: to startup, and to perform some actions.
2024-06-08	Ev*****	I have been a paid subscriber to this ap for a few years now. About 6 months ago it started giving me trouble with certain podcasts shutting off and giving me a red triangle with ! Where the play button should be. Then some of my paid subscriber RSS feeds stopped updating. I've made sure I had updated versions of podverse, un-followed then re-followed the troubled podcasts and done the same with custom RSS feeds to no avail. Unsubscribing until issues resolved.
I have been a paid subscriber to this ap for a few years now. About 6 months ago it started giving me trouble with certain podcasts shutting off and giving me a red triangle with ! Where the play button should be. Then some of my paid subscriber RSS feeds stopped updating. I've made sure I had updated versions of podverse, un-followed then re-followed the troubled podcasts and done the same with custom RSS feeds to no avail. Unsubscribing until issues resolved.
2024-05-16	Ja*****	After latest update app will not even run. My phone tells me it has a bug and will not work on my android. Hoping you get this fixed ASAP so I can change my review. I have not had any issues with this app and it has been one of my favorites for well over a year, when it works it is one of the best podcast apps by far. When it works.
After latest update app will not even run. My phone tells me it has a bug and will not work on my android. Hoping you get this fixed ASAP so I can change my review. I have not had any issues with this app and it has been one of my favorites for well over a year, when it works it is one of the best podcast apps by far. When it works.
2024-04-23	Si*****	It's just usable. DOES NOT WORK OFFLINE!Nothing will replace google podcasts nor Spotify. It works best on wifi. Absolutely maddening trying to stream or download anything. Successful 10% of the time all the time. You can't search for anything. Importing new podcasts is difficult if not RSS. It's a second or third tier podcast app. At least there is no annoying ads that are all left leaning ( that's you podcast addict), and does not download unwanted files or spyware (podcast addict).
It's just usable. DOES NOT WORK OFFLINE!Nothing will replace google podcasts nor Spotify. It works best on wifi. Absolutely maddening trying to stream or download anything. Successful 10% of the time all the time. You can't search for anything. Importing new podcasts is difficult if not RSS. It's a second or third tier podcast app. At least there is no annoying ads that are all left leaning ( that's you podcast addict), and does not download unwanted files or spyware (podcast addict).
2024-04-17	Br*****	Could be so good... But it's not. It's so bad on android it's painful. I wish I hadn't purchased the premium membership. It did work at one time. This app literally makes me want to throw my phone every time I use it. Waiting for the app to respond to a command, for 10 seconds, every time, is frustrating. Don't charge for the premium until you fix the app!
Could be so good... But it's not. It's so bad on android it's painful. I wish I hadn't purchased the premium membership. It did work at one time. This app literally makes me want to throw my phone every time I use it. Waiting for the app to respond to a command, for 10 seconds, every time, is frustrating. Don't charge for the premium until you fix the app!