iOS 11 Podcast app "Mark as Played" Missing

Why move it? And then tap, as you note, on the episode currently playing, followed by dragging up and then seeing the queue? This interface is most un-Apple like. What happened to, "it just works"? No, to another commenter, it does not appear that Apple tested this app with actual users. It was changed just to say they changed it.

David, I understand. A bunch of us have had similar observations. There are work-arounds and multiple steps that can get to the same result (kind of), but it does not appear that Apple tested this with actual users. They appear to have changed (and reduced) the functionality to be able to state that it was improved. I am testing Stitcher and OverCast for better results. Other suggestions, anyone?

Why should it be harder or require more steps to determine what has or has not been played? It should just work, not require more work by the user. Mark as Played needs to come back. Items marked as played (and deleted), should not show up under Listen Now. Who thought that was a good idea?

As an inbox zero person I can’t stand the lack of “mark as played” in the new app. I’ve lived through if version of the native app and never before considered a third party solution but this is a problem I can’t ignore.

Just another observation: You can no longer write a review for the Podcast app on the App store. Hmmmmmm......

(They're slowly and intentionally killing the Podcast app. Can't have people listening to podcasts for free when they could be spending money on Apple Music, can you?)

This is not the first time Apple has made the Podcasts app worst. It won't be the last time. We should provide positive recommendations on how they can make the current version better. I've found that Siri is much better at playing my Stations. I also learned that 3D Touch from the Home Screen does allow me to play my favorite stations more quickly.

To those trying to figure out where this interface came from, I believe Apple was trying to make it more similar to the recent updates to the Music app. While most of us probably don't use the Music app as much as the Podcasts app, we haven't really paid attention to the changes over there. Making the user interface the same allows Apple to consolidate development labor on future updates to both apps. In theory if they can reduce their costs, they should be able to reduce prices.

It makes sense that "Marked as Played" wouldn't appear in the Music app. Who would do that for a 3 minute song? It doesn't make sense for Podcasts because I don't want to re-listen to an hour long episode. I expect that Marked as Played will be back in the next update. I look at this as version 1 of the new user interface. Version 1 of any software is usually pretty rough around the edges.

<>

• A Show is a particular podcast like Millie’s Gardening Tips or the Counsel On Foreign Relations Events.

• An Episode is a daily, weekly or periodic segment in a Show..

• A Station is an umbrella grouping such as you select such as Financial Markets or Gardening within you add Shows related to that grouping, which permits you to automatically listen to current episodes from the Subscriptions in the sequence you specify.

1. Search for and subscribe to Shows.

2. In the Library page click Edit in the upper left.

3. Click New Station and name it.

4. Open the Station page and tap Edit in the upper right.

5. Click Settings.

6. Click Choose Podcasts and click the various Shows you wish to include in that Station.

7. When finished selecting click Back in the upper left.

8. Choose the Play order, which is also the sort order.

9. Click the Podcast name in the upper left to go to the main Station page.

10. Click Done in the upper right.

You can set the episode Sort By order for the Station to Oldest-to-Newest, the reverse or manually position episodes using the Edit button at the upper right corner of the Station page. You can then click the top episode in the station to play all episodes in sequence or ask Siri to “Play xxx Station in Podcasts.”

The best reference for the Podcasts app is the iBooks version of the “iPhone User Guide for iOS 11”, pages 917-928.. Search for it in the iBooks app. A smaller PDF version is the "iPhone 7 User Guide for iOS 11," pages 315-318, at

http://file.iphone7manuals.com/iPhone-7-User-Guide-for-iOS-11.pdf

Ditto...this is absolutely the worst version of an app reboot I've ever seen. Let's not mention that no one in their right mind could come up with such a convoluted process for listen to episodes. Looks like I'll be shopping for a different player...Apple, this was a big dud...

David, always nice to find someone who wants to figure out how to make what we have work to our advantage instead of venting here rather than www.apple.com/feedback

The reason I think a Station is a better “main plus” is that One-click autoplay only works within a station. It does not work in Listen Now, Shows or Episodes Lists.

Intersesting choice. For me, my favorite update is the Downloaded section. I have always been annoyed in the past when I get on an airplane and struggle to find the episodes I’ve downloaded. I spend a third of the trip scrolling through to see what I can play while in Airplane Mode. Now I have them all together in one place. This was a good update.

Start in the Library. In the upper right, tap on Edit. At the bottom is a button for New Station. Tap that and then enter a name for the Station.

If you’re new to Stations, try this example and then experiment with some of the options not selected here.

Name: New Audio

Play: Manual Show (This allows you to change the playback order my moving Shows around in the Shows section.)

Group by Podcast: On

Episodes: Most Recent 2 Episodes

Media Type: Audio

Unplayed Only: On

Choose Podcasts: Include All Podcasts

After you’ve updated all the options, in the upper left, follow the prompts back to the Library page. Then in the upper right tap on the Done button.

It may take a little while for the app to refresh the Station. Soon you’ll see a list of the most recent unplayed audio episodes of all your subscribed podcasts. Tap on the first one and then tap the Play icon. This will start continuous playback of all of the episodes in the Station.

I don’t yet know about High Sierra. I do know that Mark As Played is still available in the Apple TV Podcasts app.

Again, not an ideal solution, but if you’re listening to music or audio podcasts through the Apple TV, you can use the time to mark other episodes as played. This status will sync across the rest of your Apple devices.

No, you do not need to cue up the episodes that you want to listen to before you set of. The Stations feature is still available and allows you to listen to multiple episodes of different podcasts with a single start. I still use them for my daily commute and I get through several short (2-5 minute) episodes while driving.

It is a few extra taps to start a Station than it used to be. I have started using Siri more to start playing my Stations. I also found that using 3D Touch (for Force Touch) on the Podcast app icon on the Home screen allows me to start one of my recently played Stations directly.

It looks like they completely trashed the Podcast app for some reason. 😠

There does not seem to be a way to mark podcasts as played. So now u have to manually 'play' the podcast and then drag to complete. This is VERY annoying when you have e.g. a daily news podcast and want to skip over the old ones after a vacation or period of not listening (not that the old system was nice in this respect but at least it was do-able).

I can't believe that we heading to a 3rd or 4th patch and this has not been addressed. Only thing i can think is that marking podcasts as played was not accounted for in the stats Apple now provide Podcast owners so..

I've played with Stations a bit and I'll admit I rather like having this control.

HOWEVER... What Apple should have done is that the first time you came into the app for it to explain how they work and help you setup your first Stations.