Alexa (from Amazon) wins Apple Podcasts app support

Apple continues, step by step, advancing its strategy to transform its podcasts It is more than just a detail in your service catalog. The latest step in this path has come today: Amazon has announced that its digital assistant, the Alexa, already able to integrate with Apple's app / service.

The simple integration: The user only needs to connect their Apple ID to their Amazon account through the Alexa app; From there, you can ask the assistant to play your favorite Apple Podcasts shows and episodes; All the usual commands, such as “continue where I left off” or “go back 30 seconds” also work.


Apple Podcasts app icon

All your history and podcast progress synced with Apple Podcasts on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac. You can also set up Ma's platform as the default Amazon Echo podcast provider so you don't have to specify each command that wants to access Apple Podcasts to hear that content.

Note that the "you" of the previous paragraphs is probably a potential license: for now, Alexa's integration with Apple Podcasts is exclusive to US users. There is still no information on the international expansion of the resource, unfortunately. Still, the news deserves celebration: we are talking about the first integration of Ma's podcast platform with an external service we hope is just the beginning.

Spotify also gains integration

To give you an idea of ​​how fierce the fight is between Apple and Spotify, the Swedish service also announced today the integration of its podcasts with Alexa.

The features are the same as Apple: you can connect your Spotify account to the Alexa app and sync your progress, listen to your favorite podcasts or set the service as the default; For now, the whole thing is only available in the US, too.

via 9to5Mac