While the new library organization model is a vast improvement over the old one, we're not sure how useful the Top Stations section will be, based on its content or layout. (Update: a reader notes that swiping up on the podcast's icon will turn up the missing speed controls, as well as a scrub bar and a sleep timer. The speed toggle that slowed podcasts by half or sped them up double-time is no longer anywhere to be found. Rather than only being able to skip back 30 seconds, users can now skip back 10 seconds or skip ahead 30 seconds. The Now Playing screen for Podcasts has received a slight revamp. More controls are hidden behind the picture in the Now Playing screen. Apple has finally decided to erase the download distinction itself, and as a consequence, further smudged the line between podcasts you subscribe to and podcasts you don't. Many popular podcasts, such as "WTF with Marc Maron," circumvented this problem by creating a separate app for the podcast that allowed streaming. Because podcasts can sometimes be long and rambling affairs, this resulted in tiresome download times.
In days of yore, iOS users had two options for getting a podcast on their devices: downloading it to a PC and then transferring it via USB cable, or downloading it straight to a device itself-streaming was a recently added feature, but had few options for navigation and didn't work well.
The app also adds more robust tools for managing podcasts on iOS devices themselves. With no fanfare other than a featured spot on its App Store, Apple has officially launched a separate app for users to manage and listen to podcasts, straightforwardly titled "Podcasts." The major advantage of the app is that it erases the distinction between podcast episodes that have and have not been downloaded-a longtime hangup in the Music app, and one that podcast makers have previously had to circumvent.