Following the US depreciation in April, Google Podcasts is shutting down for international users this June.
According to the updated support article, Google Podcasts will be available for “users outside of the United States” until “mid-to-late June 2024.” The YouTube Music migration and OPML file export will be available until July 29, 2024 for a month-long grace period.
Top comment by PixelSiiiii
You just couldn't write it. I purchased the Pixel 8 and Fitbit Charge 6 from the Google Store - and on day 1 downloaded this Podcast app because I wanted to listen to a new podcast I'd heard of. It's now being abandoned. I paid for a year subscription to Google One only to find out the VPN is going (although still free for P7 onwards? but still I've paid for something that's being abandoned / going to be free), I contacted Google Support because the VPN doesn't have a "kill switch" only to be told a kill switch wouldn't work due to the way the Pixel 8 was built - disappointed was an understatement!
Also, Pixel's have been dropping calls and there's a 2nd April patch (which I haven't had yet by the way!), my Pixel 8 doesn't auto-fill SMS verification codes and has been broken since day 1, and the Fitbit website has been acting up / rumours it might become app-only... honestly, quite disappointing.
I bought the Pixel 8 and Charge 6 expecting Google to have got their services/software down to a fine art, but apps are being abandoned, bugs galore, it's a frustrating user-experience.
It remains to be seen whether this wind down will occur region-by-region (Americas, Asia, Europe, etc.), which is how podcasts in YouTube Music rolled out, or if it will be taken offline in one go.
YouTube Music has unfortunately not seen any major update since the Google Podcasts for Android, iOS, and the web stopped working in early April. We’re missing something as fundamental as new episodes notifications and mark as played, which was promised back in mid-December. The deprecation really should not have occurred until YTM was updated with those capabilities.
Hopefully, the podcasting experience in YouTube Music will see a big upgrade before the international shutdown.
Meanwhile, Pocket Casts for Android is soon getting redesigned widgets.
More on Google Podcasts:
- Our favorite Android apps to replace Google Podcasts
- It could’ve been great: An abridged Google Podcasts history
- Here’s how to export your subscriptions from Google Podcasts before it shuts down
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