Apple Podcasts
By 2012, podcasting had been growing rapidly. Until then, Podcasts were a category within iTunes. With the launch of the Podcasts app on the App Store, Apple made its first declaration that it was a distinct feature from the Music app.
With a tiny team of just two engineers and one designer, we built the Podcasts app from concept to finish in just under 12 weeks.
Skeumorphic and Proud
In true fashion for Apple at the time, it heavily featured what is now called “skeuomorphism”, a design style to replicate real-world analogues. In the case of Podcasts, it was a reel-to-reel tape player, with immaculate animations and attention to detail: as a podcast played, the reels would fill; when you paused and resumed playback, the head and even a tiny capstan, would bounce like a real-world tape player.