Overcast 2.0 is out today and adds several nice updates to the popular podcast client. The app now includes streaming, so you don’t have to download episodes to listen to them: just stream the file contents as you go. This comes in handy for people with low-storage phones but also just helps everyone listen to shows faster, without having to wait for a 50-100MB episode to finishing downloading.
Overcast 2 also includes support for podcast chapter marks. When podcast authors include this metadata, Overcast will now show this information in its detail view. Tapping on a chapter title jumps to that point in the show. The app also displays the current chapter title at the bottom of the screen, which provides some nice context if you are picking up in the middle of show from where you left off.
Moreover, all features of Overcast are now free. The previous ‘freemium’ model has been dropped as Overcast has moved to a donation ‘Patreon’-esque model where you can optionally subscribe for $2.99 for 3 months. However, it is completely optional and there are currently no features exclusively available to paying users.
Although streaming is the headline addition, there are a lot of smaller changes including support for iOS 9 iPad Split View and Slide Over multitasking plus Smart Speed optimizations. You can download Overcast from the App Store for free.
