Overcast is gaining transcripts, and it will have an edge over Apple Podcasts

Overcast, the third-party podcast player for iOS, will soon include transcripts for podcast episodes. When the feature arrives, it will have an edge over the version in Apple’s Podcasts app.

Back in iOS 17.4, Apple introduced auto-generated transcripts of podcast episodes in the Podcasts app on iPhone. The feature works a lot like lyrics in Apple Music, but for podcasts.

Two years later, Overcast is tackling automatic podcast transcription in an upcoming version of the app.

The feature is currently only available for Overcast beta testers and not in the released version, but it already sounds like an improvement over Apple’s podcast transcription feature.

That’s because Overcast will be able to transcribe private feed podcasts, including members-only episodes. These include episodes distributed outside of Apple’s free Podcasts directory that miss out on transcriptions in the Apple Podcasts app.

If you come across a podcast episode without a transcription for some reason, Overcast will also be able to transcribe it directly on the iPhone as well.

From the Overcast Reddit:

Transcripts of most podcasts (swipe on the episode art during playback, it’s a new page past the info screen) Live-scrolling of transcripts during playback Tap to seek on any line of text Music detection

All of this should work even with dynamic ad insertion… and even with private/membership podcasts!

And if you play an episode that isn’t transcribed yet, you can transcribe it right on your iPhone (if you’re running iOS 26+).

We’ll keep you posted on when Overcast podcast transcriptions graduate from beta to the App Store release. In the meantime, you can download Overcast for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch from the App Store.

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