Apple enhances podcasts service with new transcript feature for improved accessibility

Apple has unveiled a new feature for its Podcasts service: transcripts. These provide a full-text display of each episode, enhancing accessibility and immersion for listeners. With the introduction of transcripts, users can read the full episode text, search for specific words or phrases within an episode, and tap on the text to play the podcast from a particular point. As the episode plays, each word is highlighted, facilitating easy tracking of the conversation.

Transcripts serve to enrich the podcast experience, enabling users to fully grasp every word from their favorite hosts, learn new languages, and quickly locate facts mentioned in an episode. Access to an episode's transcript is provided from the bottom-left corner of the Now Playing screen.

The transcript feature was developed with a focus on accessibility. The font and color contrast have been optimized to make long-form text easier to read. Importantly, deaf or hard-of-hearing users can access transcripts without needing to play the episode.

Transcripts are currently supported for English, French, Spanish, and German-language podcasts on iPhone and iPad with iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4. However, they do not provide translations between languages. Transcripts will automatically become available for new episodes shortly after their publication, with older episodes being transcribed gradually.

For podcast creators who wish to supply their own transcripts, Apple offers the option to do so via RSS tags or through Apple Podcasts Connect for subscriber episodes.