A new iOS 26.2 feature for Apple Podcasts has made the built-in podcast app very hard to resist, despite the abundance of third-party alternatives on the App Store.
Chapters are automatically created for shows in iOS 26.2’s Podcasts app
Apple Podcasts used to dominate the podcast landscape, yet these days major competitors like YouTube and Spotify have taken much of Apple’s market share.
Even if you don’t use one of those apps, the App Store is also filled with excellent indie podcast clients like Overcast and Castro.
But iOS 26.2 makes a very strong case for using Apple Podcasts.
Podcasts gains three new features in iOS 26.2, all of which I’m excited to see added.
There’s one, however, that stands out above the rest for me: automatically created chapters.
I love when podcasts support chapters. And many of my favorite tech shows do offer the feature.
Chapters are a great way to get a quick overview of a full podcast episode, and also skip around if there are certain portions I’m not as interested in.
The vast majority of podcasts, however, don’t offer chapters. But Apple has a solution.
In iOS 26.2, Apple is using AI to automatically generate chapters based on the content of a podcast.
No doubt the company’s killer transcript feature from last year has made this possible. Pairing transcripts with AI summarization powers makes chapters for podcasts a no-brainer.
Over the last couple days using iOS 26.2, I’ve been so excited to find chapters in podcasts that never had them before.
No longer do I have to rely on creators to manually create podcast chapters. Every show I listen to can offer chapters with zero effort from the podcast maker. Here’s hoping not many choose to opt out.
I’ve long had issues with Apple Podcasts’ core Up Next feature. Its design regularly frustrates me, often tempting me to switch to another app.
But features like automatic chapter generation, and transcripts, have made it very hard to resist Apple’s Podcasts app.
Are you excited about iOS 26.2’s new chapters feature in Apple Podcasts? Let us know in the comments.
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