Overview
- Listeners can switch instantly between audio and video, use horizontal full‑screen or picture‑in‑picture, and download episodes for offline viewing with adaptive quality via HLS.
- Testing is available now in developer betas of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4, with a public launch coming this spring on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro, and the web.
- Initial partners supporting HLS video include Acast, Amazon’s ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio, and SiriusXM entities (SiriusXM Media, AdsWizz, Simplecast), with additional providers expected.
- For the first time on Apple Podcasts, creators can use dynamic video ad insertion, and Apple will collect an impression‑based fee from participating ad networks later in 2026 while keeping distribution free for creators and hosts.
- Video episodes will appear alongside audio in Apple Podcasts’ discovery features and consolidate what were previously separate audio and video feeds, a move widely seen as a competitive response to YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix.