Apple launches important podcasts feature with iOS 17.4

Apple announced a lot of changes yesterday, including a complete rehaul of the App Store to allow sideloading, as well as new fees for those publishing their apps through the store. Many more changes have already been introduced with iOS 17.4 but they may have been overlooked in favor of the more important ones announced specifically for the EU.

One such new feature that Apple has added with iOS 17.4 is transcripts for podcasts. Apple Podcasts have been around since 2012, although the Cupertino-based company supports podcasts for nearly two decades.

Transcripts allow Apple Podcasts listeners to read the full text of an episode, search for the episode for a specific word or phrase, as well as tap the text to play from that point in the episode.

It’s a nifty feature that makes it so much easier for anyone to access podcasts. Once transcripts are enabled, each word is highlighted while the episode plays. Additionally, Apple Podcasts users can access transcripts from the episode details page. Simply touch and hold a podcast episode and the option to view a transcript will show up.

Apple notes that it automatically generates transcripts after a new episode is published. However, there will be a short delay while Apple processes the transcript.

According to the company, if parts of an episode change with dynamically inserted audio, Podcasts won’t be able to display the segments of the audio that have changed since the original transcription. It's also important to add that music lyrics are not displayed in the transcripts.

As far as availability goes, transcripts are now live in iOS 17.4 for podcasts in English, French, German, and Spanish. Apple says that more transcripts are being added to podcasts over time and that the new feature can be accessed in over 170 countries and regions.