What you need to know
- Overcast has a big new update out.
- It adds support for AirPlay 2, Voice Boost 2, and more.
- It's a free update for all users.
Popular podcast listening app Overcast has today received a big update, adding support for AirPlay 2 and more. That feature, in particular, has been a long time coming, with plenty of work having gone into making it work the way developer Marco Arment wanted it to.
Starting out with AirPlay 2, it's important to note that the feature works with all of Overcast's other bells and whistles. That means that Smart Speed and Voice Boost both work, which is something I haven't seen elsewhere. With AirPlay 2, users can listen to podcasts via HomePods and other speakers without the lag that plagued AirPlay.
Voice Boost 2 is an improvement on the existing technology that allowed podcasters to be more easily heard. And it was already pretty awesome when it launched five years ago.
Voice Boost is a combination of dynamic compression and equalization that can make many shows more listenable and normalize volume across all shows. This makes amateur-produced podcasts (including many of my favorites) more listenable in loud environments, like cars, where you'd otherwise need to crank the volume so loudly to hear the quiet parts that you'd blow your ears out when the loudest person spoke.
Voice Boost 2 builds on that by offering the same benefits but with "much better sound quality." You can get deep into the weeds with how this works over on Arment's blog.
There are other changes here, too, including the ability to skip podcast intros and outros as well as clip-sharing from private feeds.
All-in, this is a great update and one I've been testing in beta. If you're an Overcast user you really ought to update ASAP. And if you aren't, maybe you should be!
