According to a research report by Clammr (via RAIN News), podcasting is an increasingly mobile phenomenon with 82% of mobile listening happening on iOS. According to the report, Apple’s Podcasts app is also, by far, the most popular choice among users:

That means that of every 100 mobile podcast plays, 82 are on Apple devices, and 64 are in the Podcasts app, which is a carve-out of the Podcasts section in iTunes.

While I don’t doubt the overall accuracy of the report – by virtue of being a default choice on iOS, Apple’s Podcasts app is more than enough for most people – keep in mind that this report is based on a sample of RawVoice clients. These numbers are not, I assume, entirely representative of independent realities like Relay FM or shows such as The Talk Show and ATP, where the choice of clients tends to be more skewed towards alternatives such as Overcast.

Still, it makes sense for mobile podcast listening to be closely tied to iOS – Apple’s dominance with the iTunes directory and pre-installed Podcasts app must be playing a big role in that.

Mac Power Users, one of my favorite podcasts hosted by Katie Floyd and David Sparks, is joining the Relay FM family. Stephen Hackett, writing on the Relay FM blog:

I’ve listened to Apple podcasts for a long time, and with over 250 episodes published, Mac Power Users has been a constant listen of mine for years.

Mac Power Users isn’t just a podcast; it’s an institution. The guest list is impressive, with greats like Rod Roddenberry, Merlin Mann, Aisha Tyler and David Allen making appearances.

That’s why today’s announcement is so exciting: MPU is joining Relay FM.

And from the MPU blog:

Mac Power Users has had a great run on 5by5 and we are grateful to Dan, Haddie and the rest of the 5by5 team for everything they’ve done for our show through the years. But we’ve decided for the show to continue to grow we need to make a few changes.

I have a personal attachment to Mac Power Users. Three years ago, when I was hospitalized for three weeks and couldn’t work (or move), I started catching up on the MPU backlog. Mac Power Users episodes were informative, funny, and always useful. In those three weeks, Katie and David kickstarted my interested in plain text, Markdown, and automation, which eventually led me to use Pythonista, Editorial, and deeply reimagine how I work on a daily basis and the apps I use.

I’m thrilled to see Mac Power Users joining Relay. To make sure you won’t miss new episodes, you can subscribe to an updated feed here.

There are some parts I don’t agree with, but, overall, this article by Matt Haughey is an excellent look at the current state of podcasting:

Podcasting started as a nerdy way to trade files between technologists, and it’s come very far, but at its roots, it’s still a pretty clunky method to collect audio and most podcast clients are glorified file managers. Listening to podcasts is an intensely personal pursuit, but it could also be opened up to easier and better sharing, and help create entire communities around hosts, shows, and episodes in improved ways that are easier than what we have now.

Matt touches upon different points – podcast apps, what podcast producers could do, and the social aspect of podcasts as a new entertainment medium.

The comments on podcast clients especially struck me as accurate and fair: most iOS podcast apps behave like RSS readers for audio, with little innovation in terms of discovery, smart playlists, and sharing tools. One could argue that, on iOS, Apple’s built-in Podcasts app is enough for most people who want to listen to podcasts, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be done better or differently. Look, for instance, at the audio effects and recommendations of Overcast or Instacast’s impressive full-text search for show notes.

The same argument could be made for Apple’s Music app – built-in and “enough” for most people. But that didn’t stop Apple from buying Beats Music, which offers a completely different take on music listening that matters. And this is why I’m excited to see what Apple is going to do with Swell and how their acquisition may fit with plans for CarPlay, the Watch, and perhaps iOS 9.

I don’t know if making podcasts go beyond their geeky roots may require change from big players like Apple or simply time and more mainstream shows like Serial, but I’m excited to see how the market will mature in 2015.

Allen Pike writes about an idea he had for a professional app dedicated to recording podcasts and interviews remotely to replace Skype:

Okay, so, crazy idea: why doesn’t our team at Steamclock build a Mac app that solves all of these problems? A replacement for Skype, Call Recorder, and all that crap, specifically designed for recording high fidelity interviews? Something that takes the pain out the process, but results in a higher quality end product? A polished, professional tool for people that take podcasts seriously?

Last winter I started investigating exactly this. I spoke with various podcasters whose work I enjoy, and they were incredibly enthusiastic. One said, and I quote, “Take all my money. No, really, this sounds amazing, like an app of my dreams, and I love it.” Okay, that’s a good sign. Every podcaster I talked to about the idea, even ones who weren’t doing double-enders, had various awesome feature ideas. I was giddy with excitement.

It’s sad that there may not be a huge market for a small independent studio to build this kind of product. I’ve been podcasting with Myke and Stephen for over a year now, and working around Skype’s limitations and connection problems is always a pain. Skype wasn’t meant to handle podcasts with multiple guests, but it somehow became the de facto standard because, at least on OS X, it’s still easier to host a Skype call with integrated audio and chat than use FaceTime Audio and Messages for the same task.

And let’s not even mention recording podcasts on iOS without having to use separate hardware or multiple devices. Perhaps someday there will be an app specifically built for podcasters. Like Allen writes, I would pay so much money for that.

This week, Federico, Myke and Stephen follow up on the history of the iPod, then discusses software and hardware that are helping them get in better shape.

On this week’s episode of Connected, I briefly touch upon the launch of Perspective Icons 2, then, after some follow up, we talk about how wearables and iOS apps are helping us achieve healthier lifestyles.

The story about the apps I’ve been using for the past couple of months will become a longer article/series for the site, but, in the meantime, you can get the episode here.

This episode of Connected is sponsored by:

• Blogo: Blogging made easy
• OmniGraffle from The Omni Group
• Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like, free for up to 10 people.

Federico, Myke and Stephen discuss the origin and evolution of the iPod.

In the first episode of Connected, we take a look at the history of the iPod and consider the impact of Apple’s music player on entertainment, consumer technology, fashion, our lifestyles, and more. It’s a special episode not only because it’s the first one – it includes several audio clips from Apple’s iPod keynotes, plus a variety of relevant show notes. I remember how the original iPod got me interested in Apple and technology, so we had fun doing research for this one.

Get the episode here.

Sponsored by Igloo, TextExpander from Smile, Squarespace (use code WORLD for 10% off), and Omnifocus 2 from The Omni Group.