Apple Podcasts launches a new video feature, aiming to catch up with YouTube and Spotify.

Apple announced on Monday that it will add "premium video features" to Apple Podcasts in the spring of this year, supporting iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro, and the web version of Apple Podcasts. In the Apple Podcasts app, programs with video will allow users to switch freely between viewing and listening modes. Users can watch videos within the app, switch to full-screen landscape mode, and also download videos for offline viewing. Video programs will be integrated with existing Apple Podcasts features, including personalized recommendations, a "new" tab, and curated content on category pages. Since 2005, Apple has provided support for video formats in podcasts, but up to now, the Apple Podcasts app has only distributed video podcasts via RSS. If creators want to offer both audio and video versions, they need to create separate program entries in Apple Podcasts. The upgraded video podcast experience will use Apple's proprietary HTTPLiveStreaming protocol, supporting adaptive bitrate streaming that can automatically adjust bandwidth usage based on network conditions. Additionally, HLS support will now allow creators to dynamically insert video ads in podcasts for the first time. As of Monday, the HLS video feature for Apple Podcasts is available for testing in the developer beta versions of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4.