A new update to the Player FM app promises to bring “podcast heaven” to Android smartphones and tablets, debuting a new design, premium memberships, and a broad range of other additions to its already robust software suite. The latest version of the app introduces a bottom navigation bar meant to facilitate browsing its many sections, especially when holding the handset in one hand. Many of the functionalities that were previously accessible through Player FM’s sidebar menu can now be reached from its main interface, with the new look being streamlined to a significant degree. The two-row navigation was also completely eliminated in favor of a more simplified and eye-drawing aesthetic that’s largely in line with Google’s Material Design guidelines.
The premium memberships that are now part of Player FM were devised after an extensive period of beta testing, the developer said, adding that the app now offers three paid subscription tiers to its users – Gold, Pro, and Patron priced at $0.99, $3.99, and $9.99 per month, respectively. The most expensive plan utilizes the crowdfunding model and comes with a number of niche features like on-demand content suggestions, exclusive updates, priority customer support, and the option of testing future experimental functionalities. Exclusive content may also become part of the package in the future but for the time being, the Patron plan is meant for people who truly enjoy their Player FM experience and want to support the app as much as possible. The Gold and Pro plans were designed as more traditional subscriptions, with the former offering profile syncing across multiple devices, automatic file compression, support for playlists and bookmarks, custom themes, and user-defined shortcuts. The Pro plan comes with all of those features and also boasts audio backups, priority support and content fetching, and a robust search engine allowing you to search for podcasts and specific episodes using virtually any kind of text queries.
Player FM is still listed on the Google Play Store as the “Podcast Player” and can be downloaded by referring to the banner below. The app is compatible with virtually all contemporary Android smartphones, with its developers promising that an iOS port is also on the way.
