Apple Launching Video Podcasts!

Apple said it will roll out a new video podcast experience across its Apple Podcasts platform starting this spring, enabling native video support via HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology and offering creators enhanced control over content and monetization opportunities, according to the company’s announcement.

Credit: Apple

The new update, first available for testing in beta versions of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4, will let users on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro, and the web switch between video and audio playback within the Apple Podcasts app, view content in horizontal full-screen mode, and even download video episodes for offline viewing, the announcement said.

Apple said the enhanced video capabilities also include automatic quality adjustment powered by HLS to maintain smooth playback across varying network conditions.

Episodes with video will integrate with existing personalized recommendations and editorial curation in the app’s New and Category tabs, the company added.

In the announcement, Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services, said:

"Twenty years ago, Apple helped take podcasting mainstream by adding podcasts to iTunes, and more than a decade ago, we introduced the dedicated Apple Podcasts app," and "By bringing a category-leading video experience to Apple Podcasts, we’re putting creators in full control of their content and how they build their businesses, while making it easier than ever for audiences to listen to or watch podcasts."

Basically, the new Video Podcasts in the Apple Podcasts app are going to revolutionize podcasting once again and will bring enormous potential for the creators.

Participating hosting providers and ad networks including Acast, Amazon’s ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio, and SiriusXM Media, AdsWizz, and Simplecast will support HLS video at launch, the company said, with creators able to dynamically insert video ads including host-read spots.

Apple said it will not charge hosting providers or creators to distribute podcasts via traditional RSS/MP3 or HLS video, but it will apply an impression-based fee to participating ad networks delivering dynamic video ads later this year.

The enhanced video podcast experience will expand the Apple Podcasts catalogue across more than 170 countries and regions, with features available to users on Apple devices and the web at podcasts.apple.com once widely released in spring 2026.