Over the past few weeks, there has been some speculation about when Google Play would officially announce their Google Play Music Podcast feature. DroidLife posted a blog on February 2, 2016, with an unofficial announcement from Bill Simmons, who tweeted: “FYI – the BS podcast will be available on Google Play when GP launches its podcast platform later this month.” That tweet was soon deleted, but you can still see a screenshot of it on DroidLife.
Google still hasn’t given out any official word on when Google Play would announce their Google Play Music Podcast feature. Instead, it appears that some Google Play Music users are reporting that they have seen podcasts show up inside the Google Play app.
The podcast section of Google Play Music is said to look very much the same as the rest of the app. Shows are arranged in a card-like interface (with artwork and detailed descriptions available). Some users are able to play the most recent episode of a podcast, and have been given the option to subscribe to it. The interface also enables people to skip ahead, or skip back, 30 seconds.
It has also been reported that there is a search bar at the top of the app, but it is currently not something that can be used to search only for podcasts. The REM thinks the feature will come to “just podcasts” when the service has been launched for the public at large.
If you are an Android user, it is possible that you can now play (at least some) podcasts on your device. It is also possible that this new addition hasn’t been rolled out to you just yet. The update is expected to reach all users by the end of February. Perhaps Google will make an official announcement about it when it is ready to launch the podcast option on all devices.