Simulcast, new iOS, MacOS, and TVOS Podcast App

By Ashley, 20 April, 2026

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

As a podcasting fan and enthusiast since its inception in the early 2000s, I've used a lot of podcasting apps. Most recently Downcast on MacOS and iOS. I loved the interface, the way that syncing between the Mac and the iPhone was flawless, and the configurability. However, unfortunately, it seems that Downcast is no-longer being actively maintained. There are bugs in the macOS version that make it impossible to get into the settings, iCloud syncing is broken, and there have been no updates for almost a year nor any communication from the developer.

I set about building a replacement. SOmething with the power, configurability and simplicity of Downcast, with a native MacOS and iOS interface. The app is written in Swift with platform-specific optimisation so the interface feels at home on MacOS and iOS, not like an iOS app that just happens to run on a Mac.

Simulcast is nearing release. 83 builds, many late nights with a LOT of coffee, and, of course, tons of tester feedback. I'm preparing to push the first version to the app store in 1 or 2 builds time. To those who are still testing, now is the time to get any last minute feedback, bugs, feature requests or otherwise broken things sent in. I'll probably look to push the first build at the beginning of November, allowing November for Apple's review process, which should mean a public release towards the end of November or early December.

I'm particularly keen to hear from those running the latest builds on the APple TV. I'm new to the platform, and while I do have an Apple TV (purchased specifically to push the build out) it is not a device I use. I would be grateful if those of you who are regular APple TV users, or even just more familiar with the Apple TV than I, could really put the TV version of Simulcast through its paces.

In regards to iOS and MacOS, the last 2 bug reports I have are in build 83 which ships today. But if there is anything else, please do send it my way. Test it, stress it, try to break it. I'd rather it broke now, than after a public release.

Finally, a note for those who have asked about Android and Windows. Simulcast was built to work across the Apple ecosystem. It is built using native Apple technologies, frameworks and APIs, written entirely in modern Swift. Much of its codebase is shared between platforms, with platform exceptions handled gracefully and the UI optimised for each platform and how you use it.

Porting SImulcast to Android or Windows would be a ground-up rewrite, building on the technologies, frameworks, APIs and libraries those platforms offer. It would require that I obtain decent devices, Windows and Android, for the purposes of development. It would require a lot of work to ensure feature parity, and to ensure that those features functioned identically. For example, the audio player uses Apple's algorithms to enable speed control and silence skipping, and ad skipping is built on Apple's on-device intelligence. Those might require custom alternatives on other platforms to achieve the same level of performance or sound quality.

I'm 1 person, with an ailing MacBook pro, building this in my spare time, with no oingoing budget. I'm not against the idea of bringing Simulcast to these platforms, but it is not on the roadmap for now.

If you want that to possibly change in the future, the best thing you can do is to support Simulcast on its release. Talk about it in your circles, share it far and wide, push it on social media. Review it in the app store so it gets seen. Help make it a success. That will not only give me the funds that can go towards a version for other platforms, but knowing that there is the need, or the want, gives me the insentive to make it happen. I've built an app that is far more than I ever wanted, so I could stop here. I'm not doing this for profit, though some compensation for the thousands of hours I've put in will certainly be nice. I built it because I couldn't use Downcast any more and i didn't like the alternatives, and I wanted to learn Swift.

So, never say never. For now, Simulcast suppports multiple syncing options including GPodder and and app that supports 'listening places, including Earshot and Quill. It's not the same as having your favourite app across every platform, but that is where things stand at the moment.

Thanks to every one of you who has helped make this app what it is today. It started out as a tiny podcast client and has amassed features that have taken mainstream clients decades to build. It's an app for everyone, designed to be as simple or complex as you want it to be. It's an app for anyone as passionate about radio, podcasting, and broadcasting as I am. Build 83 drops today, and depending on the reports that come in, and whether or not APple approve, the release should land soon!

Edited 22/10/2026 with the status update, effectively closing the beta for now.

Options

Comments

By Ashley on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 - 10:08

Yes, it's Downcast and more. The only part of Downcast I didn't implement is the 'local' vs 'feed' distinction, because there's really no need to do so. You can still mark and filter episodes, just the interface is slightly different. Otherwise this app is more customisable than Downcast. I posted the beta link in a recent comment, feel free to give it a try and eMail me any feedback.

By Sebby on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 - 17:39

Will check this out imminently.

Have you considered integration with AudioBookshelf, as an alternative/in addition to iCloud? Would make it even more attractive for hoarders, but it's not a top priority for me at the moment, I'd just love to see it.

Cheers for the work!

By Ashley on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 - 18:25

I am thinking about those integrations, it's something that others have asked for as well. I'll look into it.

By DurDevil on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 - 20:15

Great and thanks for the reply - I will grab that test link and check it out asap.

One more question - a feature request I sent Downcast ages ago which they said they would aim to implement and then no updates since and some time has gone past - a feature I liked from the BookPlayer book app and the Audible app, if playback speed set to increased speed the remaining listening time could be set to be shown based on that listening speed i.e. at 1x a book might show as 1hr listening time remaining but at 2x it would reflect real remaining listening time of 30mins (or what it is based on math by smart people) would be great to have something like this for podcast episodes or playlists etc

By Ashley on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 - 20:33

I hadn't thought about that, but great suggestion. It will be in the next build.

By Hubert on Thursday, May 28, 2026 - 11:25

I've just downloaded the beta, are stats available yet? Or is this coming in the later versions of the app? If they are available, where can I find them?

By Pilgrim Pete on Thursday, May 28, 2026 - 11:32

I'm a long-term podcast listener who typically gets through a couple of hours of episodes daily and has used most of the main iOS podcast apps over the years, always gravitating back to Overcast. This new app has a compelling set of features and an accessibility focus that could finally pull me away from Overcast.

I have noticed one issue that's making it difficult to transition to this app: audio quality degrades quite noticeably to my ear when increasing playback speed. I normally listen at 2× or above, and at those rates the audio is noticeably harder to bear in this app compared to Overcast or others I've used. I wondered whether my combination of the audio enhancement settings — Voice Boost, the EQ, or Smart Speed — might be interacting in a way that causes this, so I disabled all of these , but the degradation persists.

Has anyone else experienced similar quality issues at higher playback speeds? And does anyone have suggestions as to whether a particular combination of the available audio settings might be contributing to this?

By Ashley on Thursday, May 28, 2026 - 11:50

I will look into this. I can't imagine it is settings-related, very likely the player implementation. expect some updates in the next build. If you find any other bugs or encounter any issues, you can report bugs directly to [email protected], I try to keep up with this thread but may miss things posted here. Thanks for the feedback!

By Ashley on Thursday, May 28, 2026 - 11:52

Stats are implemented and will be improved in upcoming builds. YOu can find them by tapping "library options" at the top of the podcast library and then "statistics" in the menu that appears.

By Pilgrim Pete on Thursday, May 28, 2026 - 12:26

Thanks for the speedy response, Ashley — really appreciated. I'm genuinely excited to see how the app develops.

One other thing I noticed while testing: on the player screen, the playback speed adjustment only goes up to 2.0×. Given that the app supports up to 3.0×, I wanted to flag it in case it's an unintentional omission rather than a deliberate design choice for that screen.

By Ashley on Thursday, May 28, 2026 - 12:33

Thank you, that too will be fixed in the next build. I've also just finished some work on the playback speed quality issue which is now much improved, and playback in general has a few optimisations. You'll see those improvements in the next build, released either today or tomorrow.

By Hubert on Thursday, May 28, 2026 - 12:34

I must say, after having a look at this app, I think I might have found a replacement for Pocket Casts, it does all the things I like and more, as I have not explored all the settings yet, but the app seems incredibly customizable. It also has live radio as mentioned, so might enable me to like it says there, use one app for both.

By Ashley on Thursday, May 28, 2026 - 19:41

Thank you! If you find you're missing any features, customisations, or encounter any bugs, do let me know.

By Hubert on Friday, May 29, 2026 - 10:14

Hi,
I put this through test flight feedback, but I'll mention it here too.
I've had a few instances where the app would crash, these are:
Firstly when tapping on the create smart playlist button, this was on my iPhone 15 Pro running the latest iOs.
Second, for some reason, and this may be due to the fact it's running the beta on an iPad. The app worked rather slowly in some parts, and when I turned on iCloud to move my stuff across from the phone, the app was not responding very well, and crashed a few times.
Also on the iPad. I played an episode of the podcast, once the episode started playing, the app became unresponsive. I could not use VoiceOver ot navigate to find the player screen or anything. Once I managed to get to the home screen., and with effort close the app, it kept playing the audio for a few seconds, then stopped playback, and a dialog popped up about the app crashing.

By Ashley on Friday, May 29, 2026 - 10:57

Thanks for the feedback. I'm addressing these. There were unfortunately a few regressions in the latest build mainly due to the addition of the separate Voiceover actions rotor. I'm working through the crashes and will have a more stable build out ASAP.

By Pilgrim Pete on Friday, May 29, 2026 - 11:33

I'm also encountering unresponsiveness. For me it happens consistently when expanding the player to full screen, but also in other situations — most notably when the app is refreshing my subscriptions, of which I have 50 or so. When it occurs, my iPhone 15 Pro becomes noticeably warm.

Because of this I haven't had much opportunity to properly evaluate the audio quality issue I mentioned in my earlier post, but what I have been able to hear unfortunately suggests it may still be present. I'd be curious whether anyone else has impressions on the audio quality, particularly at higher playback speeds.

By Chris on Friday, May 29, 2026 - 22:35

I'm also interested in testing. We really need a decent podcast program on macOS and iOS, and this sounds great! Please get in touch using the contact form for my account on here.

By Ashley on Saturday, May 30, 2026 - 09:18

please use the public link earlier in the thread to access the betas for both iOS and MacOS. Thanks!

By tomm129 on Tuesday, June 2, 2026 - 14:11

Hi, I’m wondering are you still looking for testers for your iOS app. Took me a while to find the thread to comment and reply.

By Dennis Long on Friday, June 26, 2026 - 02:48

You deserve it. It's a shame it only gives 5 stars on the app store. It deserves 20 stars.

By Kroni on Friday, June 26, 2026 - 16:59

I can absolutely confirm that. A great app with an incredible number of settings. For me, it’s already the app of the year. Always responded very quickly to my feedback and ensured that the problem was solved. Great developer

By Dennis Long on Friday, June 26, 2026 - 17:05

I completely agree. This is the developer of the year. I've never seen someone work on something until it is solved. This make take a few attempts but this dev just keeps at it. I'm seriously thinking of doing a podcast on it when it is on the store. Just be aware it will be long as I will cover as much of it as I can.

By LThree05 on Saturday, June 27, 2026 - 03:23

(Edit) I found the testflight link and I’m excited to start exploring the app.

I’d love to test for ios. I listen to podcasts pretty often, at least weekly, and it sounds like this app will have my favorite features from the players I use. I also used downcast for a while, but switched when I saw it wasn’t being updated and now I use pocketcasts and overcast. I’d love to switch to something with an accessibility focus. I know your in the beta phase right now, but do you have any longterm plans about things like whether this app will have a premium version or be completely free? Looking forward to hearing more about your work!

By LThree05 on Saturday, June 27, 2026 - 03:43

Hi Ashley,
When I export my library from pocketcasts I’m unable to upload it to this app. I’m using an iphone 14 pluss on ios 26.5 with voiceover. I can see the OPML file when I’m given the option to select something from the files app, but voiceover just says dimmed and doesn’t let me open it. I can open the file with no problem from the files app. I’m not sure if this is user error or a bug. Thank you for your time.

By LThree05 on Saturday, June 27, 2026 - 05:02

I got the import to work and now I’m trying to set up the inbox. Is there a way to get it to only show the latest episodes from the podcasts I’m subscribed to, and how do I get it to remove episodes from the inbox once I’ve listened to them or marked them as played? This app has a lot of settings which is useful but a bit confusing in the beginning.

By Dennis Long on Saturday, June 27, 2026 - 05:08

Try settings under more. Start with inbox and cue.

By Dennis Long on Friday, July 10, 2026 - 23:02

Simulcast 1.0 (49) is ready to test on macOS.
What to Test
Quite a few fixes in this build.

iCloud:

Fixed iCloud settings being overwritten when sync starts on a new device.
Improved iCloud account-change, quota, and oversized-settings handling.
Fixed shared collections failing to save or open from iCloud invitations.
Made shared collection saves atomic and cleaned up temporary share files.
Improved iCloud Drive safety for downloads and custom notification sounds.
Fixed iCloud notifications incorrectly reporting that they downloaded new data.
Reduced background feed refresh work when iCloud library sync is on, which should reduce CloudKit disk writes and background termination risk on large libraries.

UI:
Refined the interface across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.
Cards, banners, empty states, and appearance controls now use restrained native styling.
Added Automatic, Focused, and Expanded large-screen layout options.
Improved adaptive podcast grids, dashboards, artwork, player sheets, and import sheets.
Added a native Mac Settings window and customisable toolbars.
Improved Apple TV and Apple Watch layouts and text wrapping.
Improved onboarding visibility, larger text, Reduce Motion, and calmer presentation.
Improved Insights, Year in Review, menus, searches, and progress wording.
Aligned Translucent Surfaces with system materials.
Added an Interface setting to show Previous Station and Next Station buttons while playing radio. The station buttons appear in the full screen player and mini player and follow the same radio navigation source as remote media controls.
Playlist rows now show episode counts and total duration.
Playlist rows also show speed-adjusted remaining time when that interface setting is enabled.

Accessibility:
Improved VoiceOver navigation in Library Options.
Improved VoiceOver focus after queueing or removing Inbox items.
Radio track change announcements now speak the station before the song and artist.
Added a VoiceOver setting to announce the station after Previous Station or Next Station starts playback.

Siri:
Improved Siri playback after a cold background launch.
Added iOS 27 Siri queue warm-up and repeat support.
Siri now cancels interrupted playback promptly.
Fixed Siri playback for radio stations without an ID.
Siri suggestions now avoid duplicates.
Siri radio playback now handles small speech or spelling errors in long station names.
Siri radio playback now handles longer spoken station names more reliably.
Siri radio playback now avoids timing out while a live stream is still buffering.

General:
Lots of work on feed handling, refresh reliability, OPML imports and speed
Feed refresh diagnostics now write less often during long refreshes.
Fixed radio streams that could show 0KBPS when the server only exposed bitrate in the stream path.
Automatic downloads now make room before downloading when a keep limit is set.
Feed subscription approval now prefers the correct HTTP warning when a secure upgrade fails but the HTTP feed is usable.
Added optional app icon badges on iOS and the MacOS dock icon. You can choose what the badge counts in Notification settings.
Badge choices include Inbox, queue, unplayed, new, downloaded, in-progress, or a selected playlist.
OPML imports now protect the initial backlog by default.
Initial OPML hydration no longer auto-downloads, auto-adds to playlists, queues, indexes, or notifies for existing feed history.
Added a refresh diagnostics export in Network settings.
Added a Duplicate Feeds review from Library Options.
Podcast library episode counts now say they are locally known episodes.
Podcast settings now shows a retryable loading message if the selected podcast is not available immediately.
Factory reset warnings now explain how local reset and iCloud data interact.
Episode Info is now easier to open from episode action sheets.
Fixed Apple Music searches that could show an error while typing or after a cancelled search.
Apple Music search now retries temporary access failures.
To test:
https://testflight.apple.com/join/VrMXgQsS

By Ashley on Monday, July 13, 2026 - 10:44

Huge thanks to Dennis for keeping this thread updated. For those asking about Apple TV, it appears I accidentally let the cat out of the bag. I use the changelog as a scratchpad for myself as i'm working and forgot to edit out the Apple TV references before i pushed the build. Oops! So yes, there is an Apple TV version of this app on the way. I've been secretly building it for a few months, but haven't been able to push a build to testers as I don't own a physical Apple TV device which is a requirement to push signed builds. I am looking to obtain one at which point the apple TV app will become available on the same public link as the MacOS and iOS version, for those who may be interested in testing it. Thanks to everyone who continues to submit feedback and show interest in this app.

By Dennis Long on Monday, July 13, 2026 - 10:46

Even developers make mistakes. Glad to know an apple TV version is on the way. I look forward to testing the apple TV version when it arrives. This is by far the best app of the year!!!!!!! I will continue to keep this ghread updated so watch for updates.

By Sebby on Saturday, July 18, 2026 - 09:22

Yes, I appreciate that it's technically challenging. But is there a way? I have many podcasts in various states of playback and file locality due to Downcast's sync being effectively broken, and merely using the macOS version to migrate the library of downloadable episodes won't be complete because many of the files were imported directly on my iPhone.

Could we, perhaps, simply have an option whereby the location of the database file and Downloads folder could be specified by the user? I would then arrange to pull the data out of my iOS backup, for instance.

No worries if this is thought to be too baroque, I understand, but I'd like a cleaner iOS migration if possible. Thanks.

By Ashley on Saturday, July 18, 2026 - 14:32

I will look into this. the problem is that iOS doesn't give you access to the data from other apps, everything is sandboxed to the nth degree where MacOS still gives some access, albeit with a ton of permission issues. I could perhaps create somewhere whereby a user could manually export the database and them import it into Simulcast on both platforms. Does Downcast on iOS have a database export function? it's been a while since i used it and no-longer have it installed with a database to check. It wouldn't be able to pull in your imported files from downcast though on an iPhone, unless they were contained within an export, since it can't access data within the Downcast sandbox.

By Sebby on Saturday, July 18, 2026 - 16:48

Sadly, no, there's no UI to export the data. The closest you can get is to turn on iCloud syncing and then access the data on macOS, however this doesn't bring over the media files themselves, which will only be included in an iTunes or iCloud backup if you turn on a switch to include them. Hence right now the best you can really do is to sync macOS to iOS with iCloud, and download as many of the episodes that your library is still referencing. This is certainly a whole lot better than nothing, of course. Doing better means breaking the sandbox, and as far as I can see the only realistic prospect for doing this is backing up to a computer and then reading that backup. This can certainly be done, even if it's not exactly child's play.

And, in case it isn't already clear, thanks for your work on this awesome app! I can't wait to cut over to it completely.

By Khomus on Monday, July 27, 2026 - 16:42

I haven't tested because it seems like there are enough people, so I figured I'll just wait until it's out. Is there a way to focus on currently playing things per podcast? Let me try and explain.

Right now I'm using Downcast. Say podcast A has 2000 episodes. I'm on 137. I switch to podcast B, and start playing an episode. SO far as I know, in order to resume Ep. 137 of podcast A, I have to get to that episode in the table, after of course picking local or remote episodes or whatever it calls them, and scroll to that episode and hit play on it again.

It would be nice to have something that resumes and maybe even puts you on that episode in the list, if possible. I know the normal solution to this is to only get X recent episodes and all, but I really don't listen to podcasts like that. The one I'm thinking of as my example recently ended so I actually downloaded all thousand plus episodes locally. So it would be nice to not have to scroll through all of that to get back to where I was at, if I decide to play something else.

By Ashley on Monday, July 27, 2026 - 17:24

There is no limit to the number of testers (well, aside from APple's limit of 10,000), so feel free to test if you like. Only about 10% or less of testers actually provide feedback, so large number of testers don't concern me.

As to your question, Simulcast has a queue and an inbox which can both be used to track episodes you're currently playing. you can also sort episode lists. It's a bit of a different experience to Downcast in that it doesn't specifically separate local vs feed episodes, but in my opinion it's it's much cleaner.

By Brian on Monday, July 27, 2026 - 19:44

I honestly feel that, once this app goes live, it is going to become one of the most popular podcast apps for iOS. I cannot speak for the macOS version, as I don't really use macOS these days, but the iOS application is stellar.
True story. 🤔

By Ashley on Monday, July 27, 2026 - 19:54

Thank you! much appreciated. It's been almost a year of hard work but will hopefully be worth it.

By Dennis Long on Monday, July 27, 2026 - 20:04

I've never met a developer so responsive to user requests. The only radio and podcast app on my phone is Simulcast. The app just works. That is the bottom line. I truly hope it is number 1 once it hits the store.

By Greg Wocher on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 - 00:29

Hello,
How can I see the show notes for episodes I am listening too? I cannot seem to find any way to see them in the app.

Thanks,
Greg Wocher

By Brian on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 - 01:13

Select the podcast you want. Then double tap on the, more, tab at the bottom right of the application. Then swipe to the right until you find, Episode Info, and double tap. Finally, swipe right until you find show notes. Directly under this will be the actual show notes.

@Ashley,

If we could make the show notes label into a heading or something accessible to the rotor, that would be wonderful. 😊
OK, I know there is a Static Text rotor option, but honestly, who the hell uses Static Text in their rotor these days? 🙄👎

By Hubert on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 - 08:11

Hi,
This is most certainly a great app, and has all the things that many other apps have had. However, I'm still having it crash when I'm trying to access my stats, has anyone else had this?

By Dennis Long on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 - 08:23

Steps to reproduce please? I'd love to try and see if I can reproduce this but have no clue how to do so.

By Hubert on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 - 09:28

Hi Dennis,
IN my case, when I open the app and tap on library options, and from there double tap on stats, the app becomes unresponsive, and the focus gets stuck in the status bar. going out of the app and entering it again from the app switcher doesn't help either. If I then close the app, a few seconds later I get a pop up saying that the app has crashed.