Podcast Guru 2.3.1
This release introduces smart episode retention, Android 16 support, video detection improvements, and dozens of crash fixes across the app.
⭐ Auto-Keep Your Most Recent Episodes
Never lose track of what matters. You can now choose how many of the latest episodes to keep per podcast — like your 5 most recent — instead of only deleting by age. Simple sliders let you set preferences separately for finished and in-progress episodes, so you stay current without manual cleanup.
🆕 New Features
Social Interaction Links
Community pages, comment sections, and social platforms added by podcasters now appear in episode information.
Easier Playlist Settings
Renamed “Edit” to “Playlist Settings” for smart playlists, making it clearer how to update filters and sorting.
📱 Android 16 Compatibility
Ready for Android 16
We’ve updated the app to work with the latest Android operating system, including edge-to-edge display that fills your entire screen while keeping system controls visible.
Fixed Unreadable Status Bar
Android 16 Pixel users can now read the status bar clearly on all screens, including Playlists and Reviews.
Improved Back Button Navigation
Pressing back now correctly closes menus, confirms exit prompts, or goes to the previous screen exactly as you’d expect.
🎬 Video & Picture-in-Picture
Fixed Video Episode Detection
The app now checks actual media files instead of relying on podcast feed information, so video podcasts from sources like Podchaser play with video correctly. Audio-only podcasts no longer incorrectly show video controls.
Picture-in-Picture Stays Open
PiP mode now stays open properly when switching between video episodes instead of unexpectedly closing.
🎧 Playback & Media Controls
Fixed OnePlus Skip Button
Tapping “skip next” in the player notification now correctly skips to the next episode instead of changing playback speed.
Fixed Headphone Record Button
Pressing the “record” button on headphones, car controls, or other external devices no longer accidentally skips to the next episode. Media controls are now more reliable with Bluetooth headphones and car audio systems.
Improved Chapter Navigation
When dragging the seek bar, chapter titles and artwork now update in real-time to show you exactly which chapter you’ll land on. Album art transitions are also smoother with less flickering.
Chapter Info in Car Displays & Notifications
Android Auto and lock screen notifications now show both episode title and current chapter (formatted as “Episode Name – Chapter Name”).
📥 Playlists & Downloads
Re-Download Corrupted Episodes
If a downloaded episode won’t play, simply select it and tap download — the app automatically replaces the old file with a fresh copy. This works for multiple episodes at once.
Background Restriction Warning
A warning now appears when Android has restricted Podcast Guru from running in the background, which can prevent downloads and playback notifications. Tap “Fix” to go directly to settings or “Ignore” if you understand the limitations.
Download Manager Scrolling
All download options are now accessible even on small screens or with zoom enabled.
💳 Payments & Value4Value
Updated Google Play Payment System
Now works with the latest Google Play billing requirements to ensure uninterrupted VIP subscription purchases.
Smoother VIP Upgrade Experience
The navigation menu now properly closes when tapping the VIP upgrade button.
Improved Payment History
Shows a clear “No recent transactions” message with a retry button when there are no transactions, instead of an empty screen.
Payment Type Distinction
Value4Value payments now distinguish between streaming payments (sent while listening) and boost payments (one-time tips), helping podcast creators see exactly how listeners are supporting them.
🌍 Localization & Accessibility
Fixed Layout for RTL Languages
The app now enforces a consistent left-to-right layout for Hebrew, Arabic, and other RTL language users, preventing UI elements from appearing in broken or unexpected positions.
Fixed Review Count Display
Review counts now display correctly in Spanish, French, German, and other languages.
Fixed Grammar with Numbers
Languages with different plural rules (Russian, Arabic, Polish, etc.) now show grammatically correct text for counts like “21 episodes” or “101 downloads.”
🐛 Crash Fixes & Stability
We’ve squashed several crashes that could unexpectedly close the app:
- Playlist data protection — Your playlists (especially the Offline playlist) are now safe from data loss. Previously, if the app crashed or closed while updating a playlist, old episodes could be deleted without new ones being saved — leaving you with no episodes at all. We’ve added a safety system that ensures either all episodes are saved or none are changed.
- Selecting podcasts or searching — The app no longer closes when tapping on podcasts without stored names or when the search service isn’t available on your device.
- Resuming playback — Episodes in your listening history with missing file information now resume properly instead of causing the app to close.
- Adjusting podcast settings — Customizing intro skip, outro skip, “hide completed,” or episode sort order for individual podcasts no longer causes unexpected closures.
- Subscribing — The app now checks that podcast information is loaded before allowing subscriptions, preventing crashes when opening podcasts quickly or with slow connections.
- Picture-in-Picture on certain devices — The app now checks if your device supports PiP before attempting to use it.
- Opening/closing the app — The internal logging system now handles startup and shutdown properly.
- Popular Episodes screen — Playing or pausing popular episodes no longer causes unexpected closures, even when quickly switching between screens.
- Value4Value profile — Viewing your supporter profile now works reliably.
- Background cleanup — The automatic episode cleanup feature now runs more smoothly.
- Saving podcast data — Improved database operations for more reliable syncing.
🔧 Under the Hood
- Updated core libraries — Upgraded critical components including commons-io (from a 2015 version), media playback, and image loading libraries. Podcast artwork loads faster and playback feels smoother. These updates include important security fixes and resolve crashes on older Android 7 devices.
- Improved podcast info loading — When quickly switching between screens, the app now stops loading data for screens you’re no longer viewing, saving battery and making browsing more responsive.
- Code improvements — Consolidated duplicated code from 50+ screens into reusable components, enabling faster feature development and bug fixes in future updates.
Ready to try it? Update to Podcast Guru 2.3.1 from the Google Play Store.