I am very fan of Castro. It has become my main app to consume podcasts And it could possibly be the only one if it weren't that the search for the perfect podcast player is like that of the best burger, it never ends.
Today Castro has been updated with big changes in the App Store. Version 3.0 has arrived and with it comes big changes that we will not see, great changes that we will see and a new business model.
Many of you have jumped to see that Castro was free in the App Store. It is not a mistake, but it is not a limited time offer either. Castro, created by Supertop, has switched to the subscription model.
The app will allow a limited use of the application for free, but if we want to unlock all its features, we will have to pay the annual or monthly fee. Castro Plus will cost € 2,99 per quarter (€ 1 per month) or € 8,99 per year (€ 0,75 per month) and will be charged through iTunes. You can enjoy a free week, during which, if you cancel, you will not be charged anything.
For Those who have already purchased the application will enjoy Night Mode and Enhanced Voices forever, but you won't have other features unlocked.
If you are like me, who had Castro, what characteristics would you get by paying for? Here you have everything that Castro Plus includes:
- Eliminate silences, improve vocals and Mono-mix.
- Selection of episodes and illustrations of the episodes.
- Night mode.
- Individual configuration of each podcast.
- You can set the playback speed and audio preferences for each podcast. Very useful for podcasts where the podcasts always speak slowly.
- In addition, you can set a specific start time, to avoid intro one of those podcasts that always start with the same thing.
- As well as limiting the number of episodes that are saved from each podcast, useful in daily podcasts, that do not accumulate 10, that is two weeks.
I do not know if the subscription model, in this specific case in which the app allows wide use for free, will mean more benefits to the developers. Still, it's a few cents a month and I have subscribed to Castro Plus without hesitation. You can always cancel the subscription if we think it is not worth it.
Along with the new business model version 3.0 of the application has arrived. And these are all the news that stand out from Supertop:
- The player has been rebuilt from scratch.
- The application is much faster when starting to play from streaming and the controls respond much better.
- The player screen has a new simpler and cleaner design.
- Double-click the episode illustration to highlight it with a star.
- Easily access AirPlay controls from the player screen.
- Use the new Apple Watch app to control playback and choose new episodes from the play queue.
The novelty, free by the way, that would stand out the most is the app for Apple Watch. It is not as many would expect, as it is not a podcast app for the Apple Watch that allows you to play podcasts on and from the Apple Watch. The Castro app is much simpler on the Apple Watch, and can be considered more of a function than an app, and allows you to control playback (something we could already do from the Apple Watch with "Now it sounds"), and now we can archive and highlight episodes with Strength touch and advance to the next episode.
Regarding the new design, I have to say that I love that they finally add the podcast image to the player. As well I like the new design of the playback options, much clearer and the advance line of the episode is much more visual (although less artistic).
Castro was one of the last podcast players I bought. Due to its old high price (above the psychological barrier of € 5), it took me a while to take the step. Now there are no excuses Do not doubt free download Castro and discover one of the best podcast players out there right now. Their philosophy, tails, and design may end up fitting you better than you might expect.
Free Download | Castro
