Overcast gets an update and becomes Overcast 2, bringing in a lot of improvements and some added features, and that includes a $0 price tag.
Marco Arment, Tumblr co-founder and Instapaper and Overcast creator, delivers a big update that improves user experience, from streaming capabilities to an enhanced social directory. While the update mostly focuses on performance and function, the user interface gets some slight tweaks here and there too.
Aside from bug fixes, Overcast 2's streaming got two more features. On the previous version, people had to wait for episodes to finish downloading before they can listen to them. Now users can just start an episode and let it stream. Also, the app's audio engine gets a boost. The Smart Speed and Voice Boost are both optimized, making the audio sound a lot better, and they can be used while streaming now.
Arment used to believe that chapters were unnecessary, but now the app supports chapters, not to mention that Overcast 2's podcast directory is now run by other users. iPhone 6S and 6S Plus owners will also be glad to know that there will be 3D Touch shortcuts. Other highlights of the update are the icon badge option and Play Next by Priority, and the app can now connect to Apple Watches better.
The biggest feature in this update is that it's free. It seems that users weren't keen on purchasing the app before. Arment says that 80 percent of his users were using an "inferior app," so he made it free instead.
"With Overcast 2.0, I've changed that by unlocking everything, for everyone, for free. I'd rather have you using Overcast for free than not using it at all, and I want everyone to be using the good version of Overcast," Arment posted on his blog.
Users can support Arment and Overcast 2 with $1 a month, and the developer says that "patrons may get special features in the future." Arment also concludes that "if you'd rather not, no hard feelings."
Overcast 2 is now available on Apple's App Store.
