Playback: improvement to resuming playback after an interruption (from notifications or navigation)

[pocketcasts]

Context: when the app is playing an episode and there's a notification or audio instruction from a navigation app, the app pauses and resumes when the interruption is over. However, there's still a second or two missing in the playback when the audio fades in.

One of the users requested for the iOS app but maybe there's a better way of handling it. (4952386-ZEN)

Also, another user reported this in 5247106-zen for the CarPlay app.

[joashrajin]

We have a similar report in #5553577-zen

However, in this case, the user wants the podcast playback audio to pause while directions are being given and resume once it is over. At the moment, it is just making the podcast softer.

The user has enabled the "Directions Pause Podcast” setting in CarPlay, which is respected by Apple Podcasts and Overcast but not Pocket Casts.

[ezebecke]

+1 on #5570049-zd

a text notification comes in and instead of pausing the podcast, it lowers the volume for the text notification sound.

[ezebecke]

+1 on 5551194-zd same case but when using the watch.

When exercising, and Siri announces a time target, or run distance, e.g. 1km, the Apple app pauses the podcast being played and makes the announcement. Whereas PocketCasts goes into the background and whatever is being said is missed.

[igotdes]

+1 on #5575842-zen:

Generally I use TuneIn Radio as my main CarPlay audio App, and it works exactly as you would want it to with Waze. As I said to Cara, streaming audio plays out of all speakers until Waze has an alert or announcement to make. At that point the “radio” dips in volume but ONLY on the driver’s side speaker (right-hand side for us in Australia) but does not pause, so that the Waze audio can be heard. When the Waze audio finishes the drivers side speaker then gently goes back to full volume, having never paused.

For me this would be the correct behaviour also for Pocket Casts to exhibit, although I acknowledge that not everyone might want it like this and it needs to be user-selectable.

[joashrajin]

When my driving app gives me audible directions / warnings, the podcast stops playing, which is understandable. But now the podcast doesn’t restart playing after the directions / warning. I have to press play again each time. It used to auto start, so I don’t know why this has started

#5912639-zen

[joashrajin]

In CarPlay, PocketCasts does not pause audio when Waze interrupts with audio instructions/alerts.
It’s worth noting that:

1. The ‘Pause spoken audio’ setting is enabled in Waze
2. Podcasts get paused in all other CarPlay podcast apps I’ve tried (eg Castro). The problem appears to be specific to PocketCasts.

5925042-zd-woothemes

[igotdes]

#6342019-zen:

[...] I have an issue when I use PocketCasts alone with Map Navigation Turn-by-Turn broadcasting on the road. By default, PocketCasts will turn down the volume to avoid navigation’s broadcasting, which is nice, but a lot of information will be missed before the volume turns up again, that is pretty Frustrating.

I suggest adding a toggle to let user to decide whether down the volume or pause the playing track when PocketCasts’s audio focus been suppressed by other audio sources such as navigation broadcasting.

[joashrajin]

+1 in 6402858-zd-woothemes

when i was in my car, listen pocketcast, and i opened waze the sound stopped. I just resolved after turned off the google assistant in the waze configuration.

[erricgunawan]

6698577-zen a follow-up (#45 (comment)) from 5925042-zen added:

As a reminder, the problem is that PocketCasts does not pause when Waze generates an audio alert in CarPlay.

The expected behaviour is:

1. Waze generates an audio alert (e.g. Turn Right in 100 feet)
2. Pocket Casts pauses the podcast audio
3. Waze finishes the audio alert
4. Pocket Casts restarts the audio from 1 second before it paused

What actually happens is that Pocketcasts continues playing the podcast audio silently throughout the Waze alert, so several seconds of auto are lots on every alert.

It’s worth mentioning that all the other major podcast clients implement this correctly (e.g. Overcast, Castro, iCatcher etc)

[joashrajin]

I’ve encountered a new bug with iOS 17. The app resumes even manually paused audio playback when a phone call is ended. This includes rejecting incoming calls, ending a taken call, or Live voicemail. Unless the pocket cast app is manually swiped closed the previous audio will resume after the interaction with the phone app. Latest version 7.52.1 installed and confirm this doesn’t affect other audio apps, just pocket casts.

7380495-zd-a8c

@leandroalonso does this one sound related or could it possibly be a new bug?

[leandroalonso]

@joashrajin I guess they are slightly different (this one is about resuming and keeping the audio on the second that was paused) this other one is about playing even when it shouldn't, could you please create a new issue?

[joashrajin]

I predominately use Waze in Apple CarPlay for navigation and I’ve noticed that anytime I get an alert from Waze, PocketCasts doesn’t appear to pause/resume properly; it seems to miss a second or two of audio from PocketCasts when the Waze audio has stopped. It doesn’t seem like a big issue but is very frustrating when engrossed in a podcast and you know you’re going to miss a word here or there. Is there any solution to this? Is it a PocketCasts issue or a Waze issue? I have ‘Pause spoken audio’ enabled in Waze.

7557358-zd-a8c

[erricgunawan]

8054608-zen:

Is there a way to have Pocketcasts pause audio when there is a notification (all notifications preferably) when using CarPlay?

In my case, the audio is not pausing when there is a notification (usually iMessage) being played out over Carplay. I use a windscreen mounted screen to play Carplay from One Tap Wireless (Mountgo 2).

[raikes]

I raised this in the forum back in January, but since then I've switched all my podcast usage to Overcast since after trying all of the other apps available, they seem to have it nailed the best. What they do on Overcast is not only pause the podcast, but on resume the podcast is "rewound" by about a second or so, meaning so far, I've not missed any dialogue since using Overcast.

[igotdes]

#8301285-zen:

Directions Pause Spoken Audio is already enabled. Here is some more information about the problem:

1. It's not for the whole duration of the spoken directions. It's like Pocket Casts is slow pausing, so two or three words of the podcast I'm listening to will be lost - just enough to notice that I didn't get a rational sentence/remark, and I have to go back a few seconds to re-listen.

2. I'm new to Pocket Casts, so it has not been happening for very long - maybe a month or so since I subscribed to the app.

3. The specific podcasts where this has been occurring (so far) are:

• Alohomora!
• NPR's Life Kit
• That Was Us

[erricgunawan]

From forum:

Apple Maps not pausing Pocket Casts correctly when giving voice directions

If I play a podcast on Apple Podcasts while I have a navigation session running on Apple Maps, Apple Podcasts pauses when Maps needs to speak a direction. When Apple Maps has finished, Apple Podcasts starts maybe a second back from where it paused, and you don’t miss anything. When I’m running Pocket Casts instead of Apple Podcasts, the podcast does pause when Maps speaks, but when the podcast starts again, it seems to start a second or two after it paused so that I lose a few words from the podcast.

UPDATE:

I’m using Pocket Casts through Apple CarPlay. My iPhone is using a wired connection.

[erricgunawan]

8860174-zen:

New problem when listening in car and navigating via Google Maps. When GM announces the next step, the Podcast stops — as it should. However when the direction step is done, the podcast does NOT resume as it should and as it always did . I have to manually -/ constantly / hit play on the dashboard

Car is via BlueTooth and Honda Link?

Logs and sample episode are included in the original report above.

This seems a bit different from the main issue here - and more like the one reported for Android here: Automattic/pocket-casts-android#15