Pocket Casts for Wear OS is now available in beta

Ben Schoon | Jun 13 2023 - 11:10 am PT

After being teased earlier this year, Pocket Casts has made its debut on Wear OS smartwatches with an official app, though only in beta for now.

Available now for download on the Play Store as long as you’ve enrolled in the beta program, the Pocket Casts app for Wear OS allows Pixel Watch, Galaxy Watch, TicWatch, and other Wear OS owners to enjoy the beloved podcast app from their wrist. The app appears to be compatible with both Wear OS 3 as well as older versions of the platform, meaning that virtually all Wear OS owners get in on the fun.

Pocket Casts for Wear OS works mostly independently of the phone app, but having that installed will let you automatically log in. Once logged in – you’ll need to have Pocket Casts Plus – you’ll be greeted with several tiles for podcasts, downloads, filters (new releases, unplayed, etc.), files, and settings. A swipe to the right reveals playback controls and another swipe for your queue.

In the podcasts menu, you’ll be able to see all of your subscriptions and click through for a list of episodes. The app then defaults to playing the podcast through a pair of wireless headphones or a speaker – it won’t use the watch speaker or your phone, and it can’t directly control playback from your phone either. The experience here is clearly aimed at using the watch app as a stand-alone experience.

You can adjust the playback speed of a podcast, trim silence, and boost the volume, as well as download podcasts for offline listening. There’s also a background refresh setting that will download new episodes to your watch automatically.

Another nice touch is that recently unfinished podcasts will appear on the main screen at the top.

The Pocket Casts app for Wear OS is available now in beta and should end up seeing its full launch in the weeks or months to come. Pocket Casts Plus runs $4/month or $40/year.

Pocket Casts isn’t the only way to listen to podcasts on Google’s wearable platform – YouTube Music also has support, for instance – but this is a very well-done app for what is already one of the best-dedicated podcast apps out there.

Thanks, Leeroy Jenkins!