According to an article on the Apple insider, the new beta version of iOS 8 shows the podcasts app being a native app (meaning you no longer have to install it – it will be on every Mac/iPhone/iPad device).
While installing the app was never a huge burden, removing it makes it that much easier to get the “non-techie” person to click subscribe. A key point as it is now “built in”, it can’t be uninstalled.
Looking back just 10 years thinking of iPods that needed to be synchronized via cables, I smile as I see yet another baby step of podcasting’s continued growth for years to come.
Dave Jackson