Podcast Playlists in IOS6?

Here is a related (pre-iOS6) problem that has bugged me for years:

If add a podcast to a playlist, I obviously did it because *I want it to be in that playlist.* But it doesn't automatically get added. You still need to go to the "Podcasts" tab in iTunes and click the checkbox for that playlist in the "Include Episodes from Playlists" section. Why is that? You added it the playlist, you must want it there!

Is this really an advancement? The ability to mix and match music and podcasts was important to me as I run for several hours at a time.

I'm really struggling to see any improvements with iOS6 at the moment???

Many more whys than wows I'm afaid Apple.

The number one thing I use my iPhone for is listneing to podcasts - with playlists. I am extremely disappointed with this aspect of ios 6. I hope Apple addresses this in 6.01.

Closing the music app on the iPhone and removing the podcast app completely from phone and computer, forced the podcasts back into the music app, and even into the playlists I have for them. Took a while to get them to sync though. 😠

Has anyone here successfully rolled back to ios5? That's what I plan on doing.

I think the reason you have to check the box to include podcasts or audiobooks or videos in playlists is that if you sync Smart Playlists, you could inadvertently include these other media types, so this alerts you to their presence. However, I get the "KCRW Today's Top Tune" and "KEXP Song of the Day" and make a playlist of the most recent downloads, which I guess I must now convert to the "Music" media type.

Here's hoping Apple makes a "Playlists" app that can incorporate music, podcasts, audiobooks, even video, from its myriad apps. I am hoping it is an integrated system and can support this.

Please voice your request for this feature to be reenabled at http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Good luck to us all!

Dan

PS I think I have to manually delete played podcasts that I convert to audiobooks. Oh well. It was much nicer when this worked with podcasts. At least I get the 2x playback in audiobooks now.

Still, it's very annoying that you have to delete the Podcast app, as well as transform the genre of the podcasts, to restore the ability to play podcasts in the Music app. This definitely feels like a step back than a step forward.

And, yes, without doing this, it doesn't work in my car any more, either.

You only! Have to delete the podcast app and restart the music app, podcasts will then reappear in the music app. There is no need to change the genre.

However, annoyingly, it is then not possible to download podcasts through iTunes on the phone. New podcasts will have to be downloaded through iTunes on a PC or through a 3rd path app like icatcher.

I have at last found a fix that has worked for me, at least. I deleted the Podcasts app from my iPhone 4 (and from iTunes on my Mac), re-started my iPhone, and - Happy Days! - the unplayed podcast episodes I was looking for have returned to my smart playlist in the Music app, as they are in the iTunes smart playlist on my Mac.

Geoff - try downloading a podcast from iTunes on your phone.

Hi Rob

Thanks for your reply.

I see now that you had already written the same advice as I put, so my post was perhaps a bit redundant.

My main aim for myself was to get smart playlists working again, before I need to start commuting again on Monday. I think that does seem to be working again, so I'm pretty relieved.

As for downloading podcasts from iTunes directly onto my iPhone, I see now, as you were hinting, that without the Podcasts app, it's impossible, as the whole podcasts section has disappeared from the iTunes app. So, for people who need to do that, I can see it's going to be a real pain. They'll need to run the new Podcasts app, so they'll have to sacrifice podcast playlists.

For me personally, at some future time, it WOULD be great to be able to add podcasts to playlists on my iDevices on the fly, downloading to the device directly, but for the moment, my key aim is to be able to continue with smart playlists, and if that means syncing with my computer at the end of the day, I'm used to it.

Hi Geoff,

I agree and have gone for the same solution, which would be perfect if they hadn't blocked downloaded podcasts via iTunes. Apple seem desperate to differentiate podcasts from music like they did with videos. So don't expect an update reverting back anytime soon.

The other thing I have done is download iCatcher. Simply for downloading podcasts on the fly. However, these can only be viewed on iCatcher so cannot be added to playlists on the fly. They will integrate with iTunes once connected to PC but that is rather pointless.

Booooo apple!

Huh--I seem to have had a reversion. I removed the Podcasts app, and now I can view podcasts in my "music" app. However, playlists that just contain podcasts aren't showing up in my "music" app after a sync--and when I try to create a new playlist on my iPhone, when I click the + button (to add tracks) the podcasts choice vanishes from the "more" menu, so I can't add podcasts to the list.

Anyone else seeing this behavior? It looks like Apple is quite insistent that decent people don't put grubby little podcasts in their nice clean playlists...

I can still add podcasts to playlists...,

robfromhartlebury wrote:

I can still add podcasts to playlists...,

It's been coming and going for me. Right now, playlists with podcasts seem to be working--I don't know what I did that could've changed it (either to break the feature, or bring it back). My own silly fault for installing a .0 version of an operating system, I guess! 😊