Take one look at any podcast directory and you'll see just how popular podcasts are. And they are only increasing in momentum. Like many people, you probably enhance specific segments of your life with podcasts, depending on them for insight on everything from cooking to religion.

Over time, your podcast collection has probably grown increasingly jumbled, making it harder to find episodes by subject matter or from certain podcasters. Due to the sheer number of podcasts you need to hear, and the fact that the options for things to listen to grow on a weekly basis, the problem you face is a common one. Fortunately, it's easily remedied with a handy, all-encompassing podcast app called Pocket Casts.

android ios pocket casts

Key Features

Pocket Casts is available on iOS and Android, letting you listen to, share, and organize your podcasts. It's a single solution that prevents switching between multiple apps to get your podcast fixes. Called "The World's Most Powerful Podcast Player" on its official website, Pocket Casts fits that phrase well.

Download -- Pocket Casts for iOS and Android ($3.99)

Search Like a Seasoned Pro

One of the best things about podcasts is how diverse they are in terms of topics. Although that high level of diversity generally serves as an advantage, it's also frustrating if you're not sure of the best ways to find a podcast about a certain subject. Pocket Casts offers several ways to search within the app, allowing you to choose the most relevant options.

Besides typing in a search term and seeing what the app brings up, you can find podcasts by genre and browse highlighted podcasts representing some of the most popular selections. Because the search feature is so user-friendly and robust, it's easy and fun to use, even if doing so for the first time.

Explore Worthy New Podcasts

Maybe you're on the hunt for some fresh podcasts because the ones you usually listen to have gotten a little stale. In that case, Pocket Casts' Discover section is just what you need. With a bright interface based on colored blocks, this part of the app offers things to listen to you may have missed. They're segmented into featured, most popular, and trending. Some might even become your new favorites.

Organize Podcasts Into Playlists

Although listening to and finding podcasts through Pocket Casts is great, the organizational abilities within the app are especially useful for loyal listeners. Group podcasts into playlists according to genre, broadcaster, or any other category you choose. Completed playlists help you quickly access content, plus they differentiate between podcasts you have listened to and ones you haven't.

Utilize the intelligent episode filters and automatically filter episodes according to new items, things you marked as favorites, and podcasts in progress. Create customized filters to focus on characteristics such as release date, download status, whether the episodes have video components, and more.

pocket casts filter feature

Automatically Download Episodes on Wi-Fi

If there are several podcasts you listen to every week, remembering to download them all on their respective release dates is probably a hassle you would rather avoid. Thanks to Pocket Casts, you can do so easily. Simply set up the app so it downloads new episodes daily whenever you're on a Wi-Fi connection. Then, you'll never wonder whether you remembered to grab the latest episode of a podcast or not because you automatically get new episodes as soon as they become available.

Tips for Using Pocket Casts:

Now that you know how Pocket Casts functions and what makes it great, let's take a look at some tips to help you get even more from the app. These suggestions turn people into Pocket Casts power users.

pocket casts unplayed

Never Run Out of Episodes With Up Next

Maybe you've made plans to spend most of the day cleaning your house and want to make the task more bearable by listening to as many podcasts as possible. In such a situation, the Up Next feature works especially well.

You can use it to automatically or manually queue up content so episodes play one after the other, preventing you from fumbling with settings as you tidy your abode. The Up Next queue is the app's default playlist, and it works the same as Spotify's queue with the same function.

Add stuff to the queue in one of three ways: Tap the playlist icon on an individual episode's page, hold your finger on the episode title on the New Releases screen and select "Add to Up Next", or when looking at an episode list, swipe left on the Currently Playing section and add episodes to Up Next in bulk.

Control How Much Space Your Podcasts Use

Storage concerns may be ever-present in your mind, especially if your device already has a lot of other apps and media on it. Customize how certain podcasts get stored within Pocket Casts by simply tapping a podcast's title, then the icon with three dots in the upper-right, and finally, selecting Podcast Settings.

While in that section, you can choose whether podcast episodes automatically stream or download the content. Set how many old episodes to keep within Pocket Casts by using the Auto Cleanup functionality, and use the "Delete Episodes After Playing" option to stop clogging up your device with episodes you already heard.

Prefer to tweak those settings for every podcast within the app? Go to Settings, then Select Storage and Data Use to adjust the same settings above but apply them universally.

Save Time Without Sacrificing Episode Quality

Some podcasts have long introductions, huge gaps of silence, or just hosts who talk a little too slowly for your liking. Pocket Casts has advanced playback features to fix all those things without adversely affecting the content.

Trim Silence lets you remove silence from podcasts so you don't have to sit through it. You can adjust playback speed up to three times faster than normal, too. Do both after tapping on the circle button in the bottom-left after starting to play a podcast.

If you're fed up with overly lengthy intros, go back into the Podcast Settings for an individual title and find the Start From section. Then, use the plus and minus buttons to specify the time marker for when a podcast should start.

Boost Battery Life While Listening to Podcasts

Pocket Casts works with the device display turned off, which allows for long-term listening without battery drain. Some people listen to podcasts to help them sleep, and that also demands minimal battery usage. The Sleep mode within Pocket Casts turns the app off within a specified amount of time, so that's one way to preserve battery life.

Also, single podcast episodes stop playing upon completion. If you listen to just one episode as a way to help you drift off to dreamland and keep the display off, you can cut down on battery usage without even depending on built-in settings.

See What People Listen to Near You

Earlier, you learned about the Discover section of Pocket Casts. If you're curious which episodes and broadcasts make strong impressions in your town or city, check out the Nearby tab within the Discover section. Let Pocket Casts access your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections when prompted, and you can get the lowdown on what other people listen to, direct from their devices.

What Will You Listen to First?

Clearly, Pocket Casts is not your average podcast app. Thanks to genuinely helpful features, this is a genuinely useful tool which caters to your podcast-listening habits no matter where you are.

Which of your favorite podcasts will you listen to first through Pocket Casts? Please let us know in the comments below!