Podcasters can now offer annual subscriptions through Apple Podcasts

What you need to know

• Apple has added an annual subscription option to Apple Podcasts Subscriptions.
• Listeners can now choose an annual subscription over a monthly subscription if they wish.
• Existing monthly subscribers can also switch to an annual plan if the podcaster offers it.

Apple Podcasts is leaning in more to subscriptions.

Podcasters now have more ways to offer their listeners a subscription to their show on Apple Podcasts.

Today, Apple announced that it is adding annual subscription plans to Apple Podcasts Subscriptions. With the addition, podcasters will now be able to offer their listeners an annual subscription option alongisde the existing monthly subscription option in the Apple Podcasts app.

Apple says that the annual subscription option will be selected by default when a listener brings up the plan picker and will also show how much they will save if the podcaster makes the annual option less than the monthly plan over the course of a year. Listeners who are already subscribed to a podcast monthly can also switch to the annual option if they prefer.

Creators can now present annual subscription plans alongside monthly subscription plans to new subscribers through the new plan picker. The plan picker appears when listeners tap Subscribe or Try Free on a show or channel with a subscription, and annual plans are selected by default. When the cost of an annual plan is lower than that of a monthly plan, the picker displays how much listeners can save with an annual plan.

Subscribers interested in moving from a monthly plan to an annual plan can go to the Listen Now tab and tap the Account button. Tap Manage Subscriptions, then tap the desired podcast subscription and choose an available annual plan.

In addition to the annual subscription option, users can now set up more preferences on how automatic downloads of podcast episodes are handled on their devices. Apple says that users can now have their device only keep the most recent three episodes or those from the last fourteen days. They can also choose to keep all episodes or no episodes downloaded on their device.

When listeners adjust this preference, their device will prompt them to remove automatically downloaded episodes that do not meet the newly selected criteria. Episodes that were manually downloaded or saved will not be removed. This preference can be customized for each show a listener follows in the Apple Podcasts app by tapping "..." on a show page, then Settings, and selecting a preference from Automatically Downloaded.

Apple is only bringing podcast episode removal recommendations to the iPhone Storage section of the Settings app and the Downloaded section of the Apple Podcasts app.

Apple Podcasts will also now recommend removing old downloads to free up device storage for new episodes and other media. Listeners can find these recommendations in Settings by tapping General, then iPhone Storage. If podcast episodes take up 15% or more of a deviceʼs storage, an indicator will appear on the Downloaded section of Library in Apple Podcasts. Tapping Downloaded will prompt listeners to keep the latest five episodes per show and delete all older downloads. This prompt will appear if podcast episodes continue to represent a significant portion of a deviceʼs storage.

All of these features will be available for Apple Podcasts users across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, and macOS Monterey 12.4.