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Google now lists playable podcasts in search results

Google now lists playable podcasts in search results

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The new search results show a podcast’s recent episodes and link directly to Google’s web player.
The new search results show a podcast’s recent episodes and link directly to Google’s web player.
Screenshot by Jon Porter / The Verge

Google’s new podcast-focused search results have arrived in desktop browsers, after being announced earlier this week at Google I/O 2019. Searching for a podcast now shows you its three most recent episodes which can played directly in Google’s web player on podcasts.google.com. The functionality works across both desktop and mobile. It’s especially useful on iOS where a dedicated Google Podcasts app is yet to be released, as 9to5Google notes.

The web player, which was first spotted back in March, has a similar set of playback controls to the dedicated Google Podcasts app that launched on Android last year. You can skip forwards and backwards, control playback speed, and if you’re signed in with a Google Account then it should sync your playback across multiple devices. The biggest limitation is that the interface only lets you browse episodes from a single podcast, you can’t browse different podcasts from the site.

The web player includes a basic set of podcast playback controls.
The web player includes a basic set of podcast playback controls.
Screenshot by Jon Porter / The Verge

Google isn’t the only company to have launched a web-based podcast player recently. Back in April, Apple updated the web interface for Podcasts to allow it to play episodes directly, strengthening rumors that the company is planning on breaking up iTunes into separate Music, TV, and Podcast apps.