I installed iOS6 this morning on my iPhone 4.

I’m not sure why.

There are now separate apps for all the stuff that used to be integrated in Music: Podcasts, iTunes U, and I’m sure there is more. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I wish the new apps had at least the functionality of the old Music app. And they don’t.

I learned that the hard way this afternoon when I started working in the yard. To have some entertainment, I always listen to podcasts or audiobooks while working in the yard, exercising, shopping or driving to and from work. So I got out the lawnmower, plugged in my headphones, and tried to listen to my podcasts.

Which had moved.

And no longer were sorted in order received.

And didn’t play whenever I locked the phone.

There were some 4 letter words uttered. Teeth were gnashed. But I settled for an audiobook that I hadn’t listened to yet.

However, it didn’t sit well with me. Why would Apple cripple a perfectly good option to listen to free podcasts? There were rumors on the discussion boards that Apple tried to steer people towards their paid content. But that wouldn’t improve the functionality of the obviously broken app…

Luckily, I ran across a post on Geek News Central, describing exactly this problem: the new Podcast app was unusable for someone who listens to a lot of podcasts. The comments reflected the same sentiment, and people suggested several alternatives for the Podcast app, amongst which were iCatcher and Downcast. I wasn’t looking forward to installing a new app, and setting up all my feeds again.

Then, lo and behold, the very last comment on the post held the solution:

  1. Remove the Podcast app
  2. Shutdown your iPhone or iPod
  3. Restart

And now your podcasts are back in the Music app. Better yet, the playlists you’ve set up with podcasts are populated again!

I hope Apple improves the apps on the next update, because this was a major step backwards.