CLAUDIO plays music, audiobooks and podcasts. This post is about podcasts only, and about what the app does, feature by feature, while an episode plays. Up front: I develop CLAUDIO. How it compares with other podcast apps is in the roundup of lesser-known podcast apps.
Subscribing, searching and streaming are free, with no account. Almost everything below is part of the one-time CLAUDIO Pro purchase for €4.99; where it isn't, the section says so.
The podcast directory
You find new shows right in the app. The directory shows the top podcasts in your region from the Apple Podcasts charts, and below them 19 genres, each with its own chart. On top of that comes search across the Apple Podcasts directory. Before you subscribe, you can look at a show in a preview.
If you know a show that isn't listed there, add it by RSS URL. Subscriptions from another app come in through OPML import (Pro). Directory, search and subscribing are free and need no account: the app queries Apple's public lists without you signing in.
Smart Speed: shorter pauses
Smart Speed shortens long pauses in podcasts and audiobooks. The voices keep their normal pace; only the silence between them gets shorter. You get through an episode faster without anyone talking faster.
It works the same for streamed and downloaded episodes. The statistics show how much time Smart Speed has saved you so far.
Speed with pitch correction
Separately from Smart Speed, you can change the playback speed. Pitch correction keeps voices from sounding like chipmunks at higher speeds. The two combine: listen a little faster and shorten the pauses too.
Read-along: the text scrolls with the audio
For downloaded episodes, CLAUDIO shows the spoken text in sync, with the sentence you're hearing highlighted. That helps with technical terms, with podcasts in a foreign language, and whenever you'd rather reread a passage than rewind.
Transcription runs on the device; no word goes to a server. CLAUDIO uses Apple's on-device speech recognition first. Where that isn't enough, an additional speech module (about 461 MB) steps in, and the app downloads it only after you agree. Read-along works in the supported languages and needs the episode downloaded.
Chapters
Many podcasts ship chapters, often with an image for each one. CLAUDIO reads them from the feed (Podcasting 2.0 chapters) or from the audio file's tags. Feed chapters take precedence, because only they carry per-chapter images. This works for streamed and downloaded episodes alike.
During playback you jump from chapter to chapter or pick one from the list. The progress bar shows chapter marks.
Sleep timer
The sleep timer stops after 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes, at the end of the current chapter, or at the end of the episode. "End of episode" is the handy one for falling asleep: the episode plays out, and no new one starts.
If the timer stopped too early, knock twice on the locked iPhone. Knock to Resume restarts the timer and keeps playing, without you unlocking the phone. You can also set the sleep timer through Siri, Shortcuts or Control Center.
Smart Rewind
After a pause, CLAUDIO picks up a few seconds earlier. After an interruption you don't land mid-sentence, and you know right away where you were.
Skipping intros and outros
For each show you set how many seconds CLAUDIO skips at the start and at the end. Ad blocks up front, long jingles or the same closing credits every time drop away without you scrubbing past them.
Sorting new episodes
New episodes land in a list of their own first. There you decide per episode with a swipe: left means skip it, right puts it on the priority list, and a tap on the cover plays it right away. The list shows at most five new episodes per show at once, so a show with many episodes doesn't crowd out the rest. Sorting is free.
The priority list
The priority list is your listening order. Where a new episode lands depends on its show's priority: high priority at the top, low at the bottom, normal in the middle. That holds even if you have reordered the list by hand.
You reorder with the handle on the right edge of each row. A tap plays an episode, a swipe left marks it played, and the info button opens the show notes. If you like, the app icon shows a badge with the number of unplayed episodes on the priority list. With Pro, the priority list syncs between your devices through iCloud.
Downloads on the charger
With Pro, CLAUDIO downloads episodes, and new ones download on their own while the iPhone is on the charger. On the go, the episode is already there, with no cellular data and no waiting.
CarPlay
In the car, CarPlay shows your downloaded episodes. CarPlay is part of CLAUDIO Ultra (subscription) or the one-time Pro+ and plays only what's already on the iPhone. There is no streaming through CarPlay.
What else comes with it
- OPML import and export: bring subscriptions over from another app or back them up (Pro).
- Played status: an episode only counts as played once you've listened to the end or marked it played yourself.
- Sync through iCloud: with Pro, subscriptions and playback positions sync between your devices, with no CLAUDIO account.
- Podcasts from your own server: episodes from Audiobookshelf or tagged with the "Podcast" genre appear next to the audiobooks, with Ultra or Pro+.
- Widgets and Control Center: resume listening, 30-second jumps and the sleep timer without opening the app (Pro, iPhone and iPad).
What costs what?
| Feature | Free | Pro (€4.99 once) | Ultra / Pro+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directory, search, subscribe, stream | yes | yes | yes |
| Sort new episodes, priority list | yes | yes | yes |
| Smart Speed, speed | yes | yes | |
| Read-along | yes | yes | |
| Chapters, sleep timer, Knock to Resume, Smart Rewind | yes | yes | |
| Intro and outro skip | yes | yes | |
| Downloads, OPML, iCloud sync | yes | yes | |
| CarPlay, podcasts from your own server | yes |
Ultra is a subscription (€3.99 a month or €14.99 a year), Pro+ a one-time purchase for €39.99. Both include everything in Pro.
FAQ
What's the difference between Smart Speed and a higher speed? A higher speed makes everyone talk faster. Smart Speed only shortens the pauses and leaves the voices as they are. You can combine the two.
Does read-along need an internet connection? No. The episode has to be downloaded, and transcription happens on the device. Only the optional speech module is downloaded once, if you agree.
Can the sleep timer stop at the end of an episode? Yes. Besides fixed minutes there are "end of chapter" and "end of episode".
Does CarPlay play streamed episodes? No. CarPlay shows downloaded episodes and needs Ultra or Pro+.
Read on
How does CLAUDIO compare with other podcast apps? → The best lesser-known podcast apps for iPhone Overcast, Pocket Casts and Apple Podcasts compared? → The best podcast apps for iPhone What the app does and what it costs? → CLAUDIO at a glance
Disclosure: I develop CLAUDIO. Subscribing to and streaming podcasts is free, so give it a try.