Podcast App

[nbarnhart]

It would be great if Fitbit could build or work with a 3rd Party to build a podcast app for the Ionic. I want to be able to go for a run, track that run, and listen to podcasts without needing to manually load the podcasts from my computer.

Recommended 3rd Party App Partner

• Podcast Addict

Recommended Features:

• Download to and play podcasts from Ionic
• Add/Delete Podcasts from phone
• Pause, Play, Next, Back, 15s rewind, 15s fast forward controls
• Auto download/Auto delete options for subscribes podcasts.
• Playlists that sync to phone player  

Moderator Edit: Added Labels

[Cycleguy101]

I would love if Overcast for podcasts had an app for the Ionic. Is this even possible?

[Bartvanhonste]

I would like to have the Apple podcast app.

[fluxx]

As there is no music app in Europe right now I would also love to see a Podcast App on my Ionic. I use Podcast Addict on my phone, so that would be the perfect solution for me!

[atramer]

I listen to podcasts while walk.jogging and i would like to either skip a portion of the podcast or go back and re-listen to something i missed.  

Could you add in button options for going forward or back 15 seconds ? 

thanks

[LizFitbit]

Hi @nbarnhart and commenters, thanks for this suggestion, I think it's a good one! That would be great. Hopefully this gets picked up by a third party developer. Keen to see if others are interested in this too.

[felix007]

Hello

I uploaded a few podcasts to ionic. each an hour long.

their are no fast forward and revers buttons so when changing track i need to start the podcast from the beginning... even if i have listened for half an hour.

going fast forward is a must and all other smart watches got this basic feature.

please add these music controls.

Thank you

Felix

[DaSpook]

1+ for podcasts and audio books with remembering the position where it stopped last time

[GadgetNut]

I listen to audiobooks from Playster. This feature would be great.

[Sunflowercm06]

I agree this would be a wonderful addition to the fit bit app store.

[Toona]

I like stein 

[Toona]

Omg, I appolgize for the post above.

I’d love a podcast app for the Versa, I listen to them all the time while walking.

[TommyM]

Please add an app for podcasts and audio books with remembering the position where it stopped last time and include Pause, Play, Next, Back, 15s rewind, 15s and fast forward controls! Thank You

[JP_Hart]

I mostly love my Ionic, but the music transfer process is too tedious, and I have no interest in loading a permanent selection of songs onto it, so that aspect of the device is currently wasted for me. What I'd love, is a podcast app that will let me cycle in new content as needed so I can listen to a fresh show every time I exercise without having to take my phone. Please consider working on something like this.

[brownee888]

I agree and would also love the ability to ff and rewind. Audio books that remember where you are is essential. 😀

[Scarfey]

Yep.  A podcast catcher app is a must!  I still have to take my phone out with me when I run just for podcasts.  The manual music transfer thing is useless really considering everything can be done over Wifi.  I have a scheduled refresh for all my feeds every morning on my phone.  Having that on the Ionic would be great.  BeyondPod is my podcatcher of choice.  Replicate that and my Ionic is perfect!

[Dave__D]

I like the idea of putting music on my Ionic and I do listen while working out or at other times.  The music player controls (pause/play, track skipping) are adequate for listening to music.  However, I would really like to download audio books and podcasts to my Ionic but the music player controls are inadequate for this.  At a minimum I need the ability to pick up where I left off or to set a bookmark.  Without this, audio books and podcasts are not workable.  Ideally, adding fast forward, fast reverse, 15 sec forward and reverse, slower play (0.5X) and faster play (1.5X, 2.0X) would be great. 

Please consider adding this soon.  I think music downloads are good but these days there are better options (Pandora, Spotify, etc.) than downloads.  Audio books and podcasts are better suited to downloads. 

Thanks for your consideration.

Moderator Edit: Added Labels

[JayTee66]

Frankly, I think this is absolutely essential.  I just switched to a FitBit Iconic from a Samsung gear, and while I really appreciate a lot of the options the Iconic offers, I'm discovering that I have to start every single podcast from the very beginning every time I start a walk.

I have no idea why there is no option for fast forwarding.  I use the fitbit flyer headphones, and as long as those are connected, it seems to keep my place, but of course, there may be many hours between walks/runs, and every time I go back to the "music" app, the podcast I was listening to is at position 0:00 and there is no way to fast forward!  This is infuriating!  Basically makes podcasts on the device useless.

[SunsetRunner]

I, like many, listen to a lot of podcasts and like to control them from the watch. I wish that the watch would display elapsed/remaining time for audio (podcasts/ebooks) playing on my phone (like Pebble did).

Moderator Edition: Updated title for clarity

[OldWindways]

I would definitely use such an app.

Right now I use podkicker on my android phone for all my podcasts, so being able to transfer mp3 files to the ionic from a PC is not super convenient (too many intermediate steps).  In a perfect world, the app on my phone should be synched with the iconic periodically so that they would both know what has already been listened to, and even better, where I left off most recently if I didn't finish listening to something.

[I_Mak_Siccar]

I'd love something like this, an equivalent to PodcastAddict or AntennaPod that could connect to wifi and download directly from RSS feeds would be great. I suspect we'd have to add subscriptions in the Fitbit app, but that's okay. The Music app forgets where playback stops on longer files, so it's not a good alternative.

[Dniblue]

I just know if an app for podcasts was developed a ton of people would be so happy and quite possibly more motivated exercise wise. While music is the common motivator/energy maintainer for most, not everyone is the same. Some thrive off of things like podcasts and audio books. I exercise, concentrate, do lawn work, and etc so much better listening to TED talks, podcasts, and audiobooks.

[kellykat]

Please please please! Podcast app! I really cannot believe there's not one!

[robogaijin]

I listen to Podcasts exclusively during my workouts, as well as throughout my day.  While I have managed to setup itunes to download podcasts, sync the playlist via the desktop app to my watch, it is a tedious process that adds time to my morning every day when I'd rather just go out and run.

A native podcast app that could download directly to the watch over wifi would be great.  I understand the battery implications of this, but if it ran once a night if you opt in I would be more than happy.

At the very least, I'd like the ability for the native music player to be able to be paused and remember your position in the podcast the next time you use it.

Currently I might listen to 30-40 minutes of a 60 minute podcast during a workout, and then the next day when I want to resume, I have to start the file from the beginning, and try to remember / scan on the small interface to the exact point where I left off.

Please add better support for people who enjoy podcasts, and you will be on your way to a great product!

[Bucky767]

I also like to listen to podcasts during my runs.  Like other users who have posted to this thread, I would like to pause and restart a podcast, which is now impossible.  I would like a separate Podcast app for the Versa, or may I suggest that Fitbit add a fast forward button to your music app, so that at least users could fast forward to the point at which they paused their podcast. Obviously for a three minute song, the lack of this feature isn't a problem, but for a one hour podcast, it certainly is.  I can't tell you how many podcasts I have listened to the first half over and over to get to the point where I paused it.  

[SunsetRunner]

I listen to audiobooks in the music app. Each mp3 track is approximately an hour long. Occasionally I miss part of the track and would like to rewind it a few seconds. Or sometimes I like to skip over a part. Currently I would have to start the entire track over or skip the entire track. A standard audiobook app lets you rewind or fast forward in 15 second increments. It would be helpful to be able to do that in the current music app.