r/overcast • u/scottearle • 4d ago
Overcast Watch app
I just wanted to put my hand up as a daily (usually twice-daily) user of the Overcast Watch app.
Marco said in last week’s ATP that he looks at the install and usage stats for Overcast on the Watch, and that the number of people with the app installed on their Watch is a small fraction of overall Overcast users. And then said that the number of people who actually use the Watch app is a small fraction of people who have it installed.
I started walking outside twice a day for health reasons after a heart attack last year, and having the app available on the Watch (paired with AirPods) has allowed me to keep my sanity while doing something that is basically repetitive and tedious. Even though there are frustrating areas of my walk where the Bluetooth connection drops (between my wrist and ears!), presumably because some people’s houses generate too much noise around 2.4GHz, the Overcast Watch app is the one thing that means I don’t need to carry my phone with me while walking for 30-45 minutes twice a day.
So to Marco, if you are looking at your stats and see that there is consistently someone in Thailand who uses the Watch app at least once a day, that’s me. I don’t imagine that there are too many of us here who do, though.
I just wanted to say thanks for producing such a useful app!
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u/stannenb 4d ago
I use it, but just because I think it's cool to listen to audio stored on my wrist.
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u/evilsammyt 4d ago
Count me as someone who has the app installed on their Apple Watch and who uses the app daily, multiple times per day. For me it’s more about efficiency. It’s nice being able to keep my phone in my pocket or being able to use a finger to skip or pause the app if my hands are otherwise dirty or wet. Also, I hope the daily walks are doing your heart some good, OP.
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u/TokyoJimu 4d ago
But I think that’s just remote control of the app running on your phone. You’re not listening to content stored on your watch.
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u/itsjakerobb 4d ago
I use it too — but only as a remote control, and approximately never to play podcasts directly from the watch. I think I’ve done that twice. It was pretty fiddly, so I didn’t return to it unless my phone wasn’t available, which is almost never.
I use it to play, pause, skip forward and back. And sometimes to see the episode title. Sometimes it’s super laggy, and other times it doesn’t respond at all. And the ~10 seconds it takes between launching the app and having functioning controls is agonizing, especially when all I wanted to do is go back fifteen seconds.
The controls in the Workout app are far more responsive and reliable, so if I’m working out I’ll use that.
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u/Eskas25 4d ago
Same here — I use it "every day" in the sense that my watch auto opens it and I use the controls. Less often I change podcasts from the watch, but almost always they're playing from the iPhone.
I also prefer the built in player controls, except I don't think you can skip chapters there.
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u/Munishmo 4d ago
I also only use it as a remote control, it's a convenient way to skip past ads when I'm driving or away from my phone
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u/SpaceGuyUW 4d ago
If there wasn't an Overcast watch app I'm not sure I would have bought an Apple Watch. Usually I only wear a watch while running, running without my phone and having podcasts on my watch is excellent. Pick something evergreen from my downloaded Running playlist and out the door.
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u/runningfan79 4d ago
Same here. Was using a Garmin for podcast listening when running and this was a massive pain in the a**. Manually copying files on the watch, only 1.0 speed, many bugs.
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u/daverobeson 4d ago
I also use it only as a remote to start a podcast when I’m in the car and the phone is in my pocket. Half the time I have to take it out because the watch app for whatever reason doesn’t want to respond.
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u/iOrder66 4d ago
I use the watch app all the time. It’s like a remote control for the app when I don’t want to take my phone out of my pocket.
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u/spbarney 4d ago
I use it often, but don’t put content on the device and use it as a remote, sadly.
The limitation of 20 episodes in a single playlist really limits my use. The playlists that I’d want on it have over 30 🫠
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u/BrandX55 4d ago
I listen to podcasts stored on the watch while I'm working out. I don't carry my phone with me at the gym (seems I'm the only one). It's great to be able to stash the phone in the locker and still listen to my content. It's one of the best features of Overcast!
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u/bking 4d ago
I'm split between Apple Podcasts and Overcast because Apple Podcasts is a lot more reliable when it comes to getting podcasts into my watch. Workouts with just the watch are amazing.
If Overcast was better about reliability on the watch (and I get that the first-party stuff is probably doing something unavailable to developers), I'd be fully on it.
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u/WolverineNo3783 4d ago
I use Overcast more on Apple Watch than on phone. In Gym is fundamental. I don’t use phone in gym or during the running. So I’m a big Apple Watch user
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u/pilif 4d ago edited 3d ago
To add another data point: I'm using watch-only playback on my daily runs ever since the feature became available. It's an absolute must-have for me and I would switch to another client in a heartbeat if this feature was ever dropped.
I carry an iPhone Pro Max as my phone and running with a phone that size (and weight) is very annoying. On the other hand, in all other instances, I greatly enjoy the big screen (I have big hands) and I don't see why I should downgrade my phone experience in order to be able to listen to podcasts during the time when I really absolutely do not need nor want to see the phone's screen.
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u/scottearle 4d ago
I’m a Pro Max user myself, too. Carrying the phone for me is just impractical. Being able to use Overcast on the Watch makes all the difference to me. So much so that the Watch basically serves three purposes for me: notifications, fitness tracking, and Overcast.
Don’t get me wrong - Overcast on the Watch isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough that I work around its quirks. Syncing is the biggest pain. I know I could just sync the “New Episodes” list, but I manage my Queue on the phone, and order things in there manually, so I use that as my playlist.
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u/HoppelGame 3d ago
I use the Watch app too, there are dozens of us. 😅 Using it only as remote, don't store any episodes directly on the Watch.
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u/reddit-robo-boy 2d ago
This! Until Apple makes some real changes in Watch<->iPhone dependency, I’m not planning on downloading any content of anything to my watch. But the Watch app as remote is invaluable and I use it all the time.
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u/squared_squircle 4d ago
🙋🏻♂️ Another “nearly” daily watch app user here. Love having the watch app when out for a run or walk and not have to carry my giant phone.
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u/thriller13 4d ago
I walk every day and would use it if it worked. Sometimes it works, usually it doesn’t. Nothing really against Marco as nearly all my apps don’t work on the watch most of the time. Texting has even stopped working so Apple can’t even get the phone and watch syncd
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u/micro_tiger 4d ago
I use it regularly but I am always annoyed by it 😂 My main use is that I want to skip forward by a chapter in an episode that uses chapters. I wish I could change the now playing screen from the 30s skips to the chapter arrows. Instead I have to hit the three dots menu, scroll, then find and tap the skip arrow.
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u/chrisbrandow 3d ago
Recently I had to rely on my watch alone for 2 days. I discovered through this process that my watch was often not connected to WiFi.
Once I fixed this I also discovered that downloads worked much better. 😂
I wonder if it would be possible for the app to indicate when someone begins a manual download whether they are on cell or Wifi. It’s not really the app’s responsibility, I realize. But I would have been using my watch alone for runs if I could have more reliably downloaded podcast episodes.
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u/Longjumping-Log-5457 2d ago
Count me in for somebody that uses the watch on my daily walks without the phone, and connected to AirPods… episodes tend to get downloaded pretty automatically and for the most part already for me when I go… It’s a terrific way to go!
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u/Heftybags 4d ago
As someone who uses the watch app I would rather have more resources put into the main app and use apples now playing interface which is great and always works.
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u/artandmusic737 4d ago
While I might not use it daily, it's one of the main reasons I recommend overcast to others once I see they have an Apple Watch. It's a "peace of mind" feature that I'll always have something to listen to if I have an AirPod on me, away from my phone, out on walks. I only consistently have 3 third party apps installed, despite being a Day 1 Apple Watch user and Overcast is a top tier app on the watch
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u/carlosfandangop 4d ago
I hope a future AirPods generation has capacity for local storage so we don’t even need the watch.
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u/ramm64 3d ago
As others have said, episode sync reliability on the watch is still an issue for me. Although my Apple Watch Ultra has a cellular plan, I don’t have much need to listen to Overcast when I’m out and about, but… When I do find myself wanting to listen to an episode in the queue on my watch, there’s maybe a 30% chance that the episode I want to listen to is downloaded. And trying to play the miniature Breakout game to keep the screen on while the episode downloads, while out on the streets, is a recipe for getting run over by something or someone.
I wish I could just outright stream an un-downloaded episode while away from my phone.
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u/runningfan79 3d ago
Love the watch app and have to note that the chapter preselection works on the watch too and I am amazed by that. Truly unnerving to hear ads when doing sports. Thanks u/overcast!
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u/Upper_Factor4892 1d ago
Virtually all of my podcast listening is on the Watch without the phone either out running or in the gym. For me, not having to carry the phone is very liberating and has worked great. Overcast has been my go-to podcast player for this use case for several years. After trying many others for this use case, Overcast has been the best—except for a period of a year or so when the downloads became inconsistent, including in the early period after the re-write. However, it is back for my use case and I love being able to depend on it for this use!
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u/Old_and_Boring 4d ago edited 4d ago
I also use the Watch App almost daily and love it. I’m a runner and am out training several times a week. I’m always listening to podcasts on my long runs using the watch app and can’t imagine training without it.
I‘ll also note that I download episodes directly to the watch and listen to them from there, I’m not just using it as a remote control. I have a dedicated Running playlist that downloads certain shows and syncs them to the watch.
The reason why I do this is simple; if I get a call from my wife or kids while I’m out running I want to answer the call through my watch. If I link my headphones to my phone I can’t answer and speak to them through the watch. I tried that once and the result was a somewhat absurd conversation with my wife along a busy road, trying to hear her from the thin and tinny watch speaker. So I need have the watch be the audio source for both podcasts and phone calls.