Apart from the bugs, the new UI and UX of Overcast really is a step backwards in my opinion. I wish I could go back to the old version for a while - at least until the bugs are fixed and it is clear if there will be future UI/UX changes. Just a few examples:

  • The audio settings are now hidden in a slide-out, which is super annoying if you frequently need to change the settings (e.g. because there are different guests or different hosts that have different speech patterns and speeds).
  • The metadata is now hidden and i need to click on the podcast/episode cover to get to the information - and i have to close it again. This is really annoying when you have episodes that use embedded images during the episode for illustration purposes. Another step backwards.
  • “Current” and “all” episodes now have the same sorting setting and cannot be independently configured anymore. Very annoying if you want to revisit an older episode that you have already completed, and prefer listening in chronological order.

While I really appreciate the improvements when it comes to speed and having a cleaner interface, the UX/UI would have benefited from more beta testers with different usage patterns and listening habits.