Rumor has it that as podcasts slowly begin to become more popular, Apple is planning to remove them from iTunes on iOS and give them a dedicated app in the App Store. Users will be able to download the Podcasts app on their own time and consume the audio without the distractions of other types of media.
Once podcasts move out of the apartment complex and into their own home, users will be able to browse, subscribe to and listen to them there. Currently, the experience for podcasts in iOS is split in half like with music or video. You can subscribe to podcasts or download them in iTunes and then listen to them in the Music app.
Apple continues to push forward with the strategy of separate apps for services, but only on mobile devices it seems. According to the report from AllThingsD, podcasts will continue to live within iTunes on the Mac and PC. iTunes on the desktop is also the central hub for accessing music, movies, TV shows, books, ringtones and iOS apps. In fact, critics have complained for a few years now that it’s beginning to get overly crowded. Meanwhile, iOS has individual apps for different types of content and iTunes just serves as the app to go on a shopping spree for all of it.
In another report, AppAdvice discovered that the iTunes app in iOS 6 has no references to podcasts, audiobooks, or iTunes U, supporting earlier rumors. Naturally, a request to receive comment from an Apple spokesperson failed to do so.