Apple has published a complete redesign of the Podcasts app for Apple TV, with video playback, sidebar navigation and creator episode artwork, and video podcasts on Mac with Picture in Picture, transcripts and chapters. For iPhone, Apple’s iOS 27 page carries no Podcasts section at all.
That split is the story. The Podcasts work in this software wave is a television and desktop project in everything Apple has put in writing, and the platform most people listen on is the one Apple has said nothing about.
| Item | What Apple published |
|---|---|
| Redesigned app | Apple Podcasts on Apple TV, described as a complete redesign |
| New on Apple TV | Video playback, sidebar navigation, creator episode artwork |
| New on Mac | Video podcasts, switching between watching and listening, Picture in Picture, transcripts, chapters |
| New on Vision Pro | Search within a show |
| New on iPhone | Nothing published |
| Release dates | macOS 27 Golden Gate and visionOS 27 on Monday, September 14; tvOS 27 date not stated |
| Source | Apple’s June 9 services announcement, apple.com/macos, apple.com/visionos |
The Apple TV redesign, in Apple’s words
Apple describes the tvOS version of Apple Podcasts as a complete redesign with video playback, and names two further changes, sidebar navigation and creator episode artwork.
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Video playback is the substantive line. Podcasts with a video feed have been publishable for years, and Apple is now saying its television app plays them rather than treating them as audio with a still image. Apple has not published a screenshot walkthrough, a list of shows, or a statement about which Apple TV models the redesign requires.
Video podcasts on Mac
macOS 27 Golden Gate gets the same idea in desktop form. Apple’s macOS page says you can switch seamlessly between watching and listening, and lists Picture in Picture, transcripts and chapters alongside it.
Podcasts also picks up swipe to refresh on Mac, one of a set of small gestures Apple added across Safari, Mail, News, Podcasts and Calendar. macOS 27 is Apple silicon only, so an Intel Mac does not get any of this.
Vision Pro gets search inside a show
visionOS 27 lists one Podcasts change, search within a show. Apple gives it a single line and no further detail, which is worth stating plainly rather than expanding into a feature description Apple did not write.
What Apple published for iPhone
Nothing. Apple’s iOS 27 page is organised into Siri AI, Apple Intelligence in apps, Child Safety, OS improvements and a general features list, and Podcasts does not appear among the app sections. Apple Music, Photos, Safari, Mail, Wallet, Home and Health all do.
So the honest answer to the question people are typing, whether the Podcasts redesign reaches iPhone on September 14, is that Apple has not said. It has neither promised it nor ruled it out, and no iOS 27 Podcasts feature is documented anywhere on Apple’s site. Everything else arriving on iPhone that day is in our event recap, and iPhone 18 Pro ships with iOS 27 already installed on September 18.
| Platform | What Apple published for Podcasts | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| tvOS 27 | Complete redesign, video playback, sidebar navigation, creator episode artwork | Not stated by Apple |
| macOS 27 Golden Gate | Video podcasts, Picture in Picture, transcripts, chapters, swipe to refresh | Monday, September 14 |
| visionOS 27 | Search within a show | Monday, September 14 |
| iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 | Nothing published | Monday, September 14 |
The tvOS 27 date Apple has not published
Every other platform in this wave states its date on its own Apple page. tvOS does not have one to state: the address redirects to a general TV and Home page, and the tvOS 27 release notes did not render a date.
What exists is a release candidate, build 24J360, issued on September 9 with the release candidates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and visionOS. The hardware is unchanged as well. Apple’s Apple TV 4K page still sells the A15 Bionic model in 64GB Wi-Fi and 128GB Wi-Fi plus Ethernet, so the redesign is a free software change on the box people already own, as the event live blog noted on the night.
What Apple has not said
- Whether any Podcasts change reaches iPhone or iPad in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.
- A release date for tvOS 27.
- Which Apple TV models support the redesigned app and video playback.
- Whether transcripts and chapters on Mac cover every show or only those that supply them.
- Anything about creator tools, analytics or subscriptions in this release.
macOS 27 Golden Gate and visionOS 27 arrive on Monday, September 14, so the Mac half of this is three days away and checkable. The Apple TV half depends on a tvOS 27 date Apple still has not printed, and its release candidate landing on September 9 is the only signal there is.
