For many years I’ve been using BeyondPod, and for almost as long a time it’s worked very well for me. Recently, however, it has acquired this aggravating behavior of dropping focus when paused. So, for example, if I’m listening to podcasts while I grocery shop and then need to pause playback for maybe 30 seconds, so I can talk to the cashier when checking out, then I can’t resume playback unless I wake up the phone and use the touchscreen. It’s only been in the past few months that I’ve been noticing the issue. By contrast, this isn’t an issue with most other audio apps I’ve used–in fact some of those can be hard to shut down. Google Play Music and TuneIn Radio will retain audio focus indefinitely when paused, as much as hours or days. (Well, I can’t honestly testify to “days”–I’ve never gone that long without listening to something on my phone!). YouTube* keeps focus unless you actually close down the video you were watching or listening to.
So, what better podcast managers are out there? Failing that, does there exist some kind of “band-aid” like widget or other add-on that can enforce audio focus for whatever audio app that has most recently been used?
FTR, I use Bluetooth headsets exclusively and that isn’t something I can change. Because cats.
*Using a premium YT account, that is, which allows YT to keep playing when you change or turn off the display–great for anything music-related.
Bumping this instead of starting a new thread. I’m also on an Android phone, and I’m looking to start listening to podcasts for (more or less) the first time.
I see doggcatcher is recommended upthread, but I also see its average rating on the Google Play store is ~3.0, which isn’t stellar.
I don’t know what features I need yet, since this is all new, but I’m open to suggestions.
I’ve been using Pocket Cast for a decade and love it. Love it to the point that I find any other podcast manager annoying to use and live mild in fear of it being discontinued as more people just use Spotify for podcasts.