Apple is taking on YouTube and Spotify with a new video podcast experience coming this spring. Users will be able to switch between watching and listening to shows in the Apple Podcasts app, which will begin using the company’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) video technology. Users can also switch to a landscape version of the podcast and download videos for offline viewing.
The move comes as video podcasting continues to gain popularity. Edison research recently revealed that 51% of the US population has consumed a video podcast and that 37% consume video podcasts monthly.
The updated video podcast experience will allow Apple to better compete with the likes of YouTube, Spotify, and even Netflix, which have already embraced the format. YouTube announced last year that it has more than 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content. Spotify said last November that it has half a million video podcasts, which have been watched by nearly 400 million users. As for Netflix, the streaming giant has partnered with iHeartMedia and Spotify to bring video podcasts to its platform.
By offering an improved video podcast viewing experience in its app, Apple aims to prevent users from switching to rival platforms to watch their favorite shows.
“Twenty years ago, Apple helped mainstream podcasting by adding podcasts to iTunes, and more than a decade ago, we introduced the exclusive Apple Podcasts app,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in a press release. “Today marks a defining milestone in that journey. By bringing a best-in-class video experience to Apple Podcasts, we’re putting creators in full control of their content and how they build their businesses, while making it easier than ever for audiences to listen to or watch podcasts.”
While the new video experience will officially launch in the spring, the update is available for testing starting this week as part of the iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4 betas.
