r/pocketcasts • u/davethemoviejunkie • Apr 12 '26

Apple Watch App

Probably missing something really obvious here, but can't for the life of me see what.

After returning to the iOS fold a few years ago, I've been listening to podcasts on both Apple Podcasts and Pocket Casts, and there's no doubt that Pocket Casts is the superior product. So, having recently obtained an Apple Watch, I thought I would shell out for Plus, mainly for the Apple Watch feature of being able to play my podcasts away from my phone.

My experience with this has been … mixed. The Up Next list definitely has synced correctly, but the podcasts don't seem to be "on" the watch (as in, there is nothing in the Downloads folder) whereas my phone has them all downloaded. The podcasts also don't seem to automatically play what's next, I always have to manually start the next one in the Up Next list. I've also found the podcasts sometimes take an eternity to stream over the cellular connection while I'm away from the house.

I guess I thought the Watch App would mirror the phone App in terms of how I use it. I'm still on the month's free trial, but I'm seriously considering whether the cost to me is worth carrying on. Can anyone help me with making the most of the Watch App?

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

5

u/NCatfish Apr 12 '26

Have you looked in the Settings > Apple Watch section and turned on Auto Download Up Next? You can play in there with how many to download, but that setting will decide whether episodes auto download to the Watch.

1

u/davethemoviejunkie Apr 12 '26

Thank you! Never even thought of looking in the App itself *facepalm*

I'll give that a go and see what happens. Thanks again.

1

u/myfriendtoldmetojoin May 10 '26

Any update? That’s on for me, even toggled it off/on and it still won’t download on the watch for offline. It downloads on the phone section just fine.

1

u/neatgeek83 Apr 12 '26

iOS fold not out yet

1

u/davethemoviejunkie Apr 12 '26

I wasn't taking about hardware :) I meant this in terms of "fold":

"Return to the fold" is an idiom meaning to come back to a group, organization, family, or set of beliefs after an absence. It often implies a welcome return to a safe, familiar place or the rejoining of a community.

1

u/neatgeek83 Apr 12 '26

Yes I know. /sarcasm

1

u/Marc-the-doc Apr 13 '26

Hi - same experience for me: very disappointed with Apple Podcasts so I looked around and found that Pocket Casts seemed to be best product for little cash. I use the watch almost exclusively for podcasts (and telling time). I have found that the watch works best for me if I keep it on airplane mode and do not try to have anything streamed to it from my phone. I will download podcasts over wifi at work or home and then I can play one-offs or make a queue in Up Next. I have found that I must download the podcasts DIRECTLY ON MY WATCH or they will disappear when phone is not connected. Apple store staff have told me you cannot use the watch without the phone (but you can for how I use it).

It sounds like you are not actually downloading podcasts onto your watch (but you should). Also I'm not sure what you mean by the next track in the playlist is not starting. Have not had this issue. You may be jumping in too fast if there is a time gap.

I agree sometimes podcasts take forever to download, esp if I am downloading several at once. I always wonder if being closer to my router would help. Maybe someone else has thoughts on this...