According to 9to5Mac, Apple is rolling out three major upgrades to its built-in Podcasts app starting with iOS 26.2. The update introduces automatic chapter generation for podcast episodes, something that previously required manual work from podcast producers. It also includes improved podcast discovery through word-of-mouth recommendations, letting users see and follow mentioned podcasts directly from the player and transcript. Finally, Apple is tackling the challenge of accessing links mentioned in episodes with a new “From This Episode” feature that provides quick access to shared links on the episode page. These features are currently in the first beta release and appear to have limited support initially.
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The auto-chapter gamble
Automatic chapter generation sounds fantastic in theory. But here’s the thing – AI-generated content can be hit or miss. Will it actually understand the natural flow of conversation and identify meaningful topic transitions? Or will we get generic, useless chapter titles like “Discussion continues” and “Guest speaks”? Apple‘s being pretty vague about how well this works, which makes me skeptical. They’re basically asking us to trust their algorithms to parse human conversation accurately. That’s a big ask.
Discovery that might actually work
The podcast discovery features seem genuinely useful though. How many times have you heard a host mention another podcast and thought “I should check that out later,” only to completely forget? Being able to follow mentioned podcasts right from the player could actually change listening habits. But I wonder how comprehensive this will be. Will it only work for podcasts already in Apple’s directory? What about independent shows or platforms like Substack? The devil’s always in the details with these discovery features.
Solving the link problem (finally)
The “From This Episode” feature addresses a real pain point. Seriously, how many times have you heard “links in the show notes” and then struggled to find the right link while driving or working out? This could be a game-changer for podcasters who rely on driving traffic to their websites or products. But the limited support at launch worries me. Will this only work with certain podcast hosting platforms? Will creators need to jump through hoops to make their links compatible? Apple has a history of rolling out features that sound great but end up being half-baked.
The bigger picture here
Look, Apple’s clearly trying to make Podcasts more competitive as the podcasting landscape gets increasingly crowded. With YouTube becoming a podcast powerhouse and Spotify constantly adding features, Apple can’t afford to rest on its laurels. These updates feel like catch-up plays rather than groundbreaking innovations. They’re addressing real user frustrations, which is good, but I’m not convinced they’re enough to win back users who’ve already migrated to other platforms. The success will depend entirely on execution – and as 9to5Mac notes, we’ll need to see how these features actually perform in the wild.
