Pros & Cons
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- Free podcast catcher, player, and discovery app.
- Suggests interesting new podcasts in multiple languages.
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- No language preferences, custom playlists, or feed/OPML import option.
- Light on features.
As an avid podcast listener, I'm surprised at how few apps there are for discovering new podcasts. Acast, a newcomer to the scene, helps fill this niche. The free podcast catcher and discovery app for Android and iOS helps you find new shows based on what's new or popular and via categories you can browse. It's a good app, but not yet one of the best Android apps, as it has ample room to grow and mature, especially as a podcast catcher. In that capacity, it's light on features and doesn't have the most-intuitive interface. If you're looking to expand your podcast world, however, it works well.
Setting Up Acast
Acast is free to download and use. I tried it out on a OnePlus 2 running Android 5.1.1. Once you install it, the next step is to subscribe to your favorite podcasts.
I had no trouble finding big-name podcasts like Serial and Bullseye using the search tool, but no matter how I tried I couldn't find KCRW's The Treatment. As there's no option to add a podcast by feed or OPML address, I was out of luck.
The app lets you subscribe to podcasts but you can't automatically download them. New episodes appear in a feed, and you download them when you're ready to listen. That concept is wonderful for those who are always behind on their podcasts and who get bogged down by all the excess episodes, but it isn't a viable way to keep up with podcasts if you listen to them regularly and often.
While Acast is free, my favorite Android podcast app (and PCMag Editors' Choice) isn't.
What's New in Podcast Land?
No other podcast app I've seen offers as much discovery and exploration as Acast, so for that, it shines. You can browse for podcasts based on what's new or what's popular, though you don't get recommendations based on shows in your feed. That's too bad.
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One interesting podcast Acast led me to is The Adam Buxton Podcast, a show from a British comedian, actor, and director who interviews other media figures, such as Rob Brydon and Jon Ronson.
I wish there were more filters for searching. Categories are helpful, but I'd like to add more filters, such as the length of the show (I rarely listen to shows longer than 50 minutes) and maybe whether it's an edited or unedited production.
The What's Popular area is especially interesting because Acast was developed by a Swedish company, and there seems to be some content aimed at Nordic listeners, too. A few shows I encountered were in Swedish (their titles and descriptions were, too).
I love the idea of a multilingual podcast app, but only if it comes with some settings for preferred languages, which Acast does not. Recommendations for Swedish shows are not so helpful if you don't speak the language.
Stitcher Radio, another popular and free podcast app, gives you some basic exploration functionality to find new podcasts, but not to the same degree that Acast does, particularly because of its multilingual, international perspective. One feature I like in Stitcher that's not in Acast, however, is a Headlines section, in which you can find daily news stories to listen to. Stitcher leans toward radio broadcast content, however, while Acast doesn't have any particular bent.
Refresh Your Feed
Acast encourages podcast discovery by exposing you to new shows, even some in other languages, and I would recommend podcast junkies poke around to find lesser-known gems. Don't ditch your favorite podcast catcher app for Acast yet, though. It's yet not an adequate replacement. Android users should stick with Pocketcast, PCMag's Editors' Choice, for daily listening.
Final Thoughts
Acast (for Android)
Many podcast apps for Android don't recommend new shows for you to try. Acast does, and in more than one language, but it's light on features.