Apple has launched the beta version of its podcast analytics service standing up to its promise made during the WWDC this year, according to TechCrunch. The service would be capable of identifying unique devices and playback metrics for the podcasts, including when listeners drop during the middle of the show, if ads are skipped, and how long people generally listen for.
Podcast analytics service – what it tells
Viewing not just the top-down view performance, Apple’s new analytics tool also offers detailed insight into the behavior of the client. This insight can be used to customize the content as per the user’s behavior. The information from the podcast analytics service can be extrapolated into easy-to-read charts. Traditional tables are also available for comparing individual show performance against other episodes.
Apple also wants to add different systems into the analytics, one being the method to track the aggregate users. As of now, the tool fetches data from the individual devices, and then makes it available on the podcaster’s iTunes Connect dashboard.
Podcasters have long been waiting for such an analytics service, but Apple never took it seriously until now. The new beta version, however, would be able to track and collect data only from the devices updated to iOS 11 as well as iTunes 12.7. But, as more users update to the latest versions, the podcaster will have more sets of data to work with.
Lately, Apple has been aggressive in updating its iTunes services and features. Just a couple of days back, the Cupertino, California-based company acquired the music and video recognition app Shazam for $400 million. According to Andru Edwards, co-host of the Geared Up podcast, Apple could use Shazam to develop a new category of voice and audio interactions, like “audio hyperlinks,” notes GeekWire.
With speakers and virtual assistants already giving users a new way of voice interaction, Apple can use Shazam to come up with ways to connect audio content and information, according to Andru.
New podcast app – better or worse than before
About the new podcast app, which was released about two months back, there have been reports that Apple has made it more complicated compared to the previous version. Earlier, the icons used to reflect on a single page and could be arranged as per the preferences of a user. Once a new episode was released, there would be a little red notification about the same.
The new podcast app, however, pushes the recently updated podcasts, including the ones that the user has not even subscribed to, but did download an earlier episode. Further, the new library homepage can have just eight shows. It becomes a little complicated for the user to choose between what to keep and what to delete from the library.
“So you then have the choice between a list of all your podcast shows where you can’t immediately tell what’s new or updated, or a list of all the latest individual episodes to drop into the app. You’ll likely choose the latter which isn’t too bad but if you listen to a lot of podcasts, it gets a bit overwhelming to scroll through,” says Nick Whigham of news.com.au.
