Apple seemingly inflates Podcasts app rating with new review prompt

Ratings for Apple's Podcasts app have jumped from an abysmal 1.8 stars to 4.6 stars in just over a month with what appears to be a little coaxing from Apple.

In September, Apple opened its first-party apps to public ratings and reviews on the App Store. The move, in conjunction with what seems to be clever prompting, has helped the tech giant inflate the score of its bemoaned Podcasts app.

Earlier this week, developer Kosta Eleftheriou noted that Apple Podcasts now boasts a 4.6-star score with over 18,000 ratings, a substantial increase from the 1.8 stars earned from about 1,000 ratings in early October.

As Eleftheriou points out, many newly submitted reviews — a bulk of which are positive — are for podcast content, not the Podcasts app. A little digging by The Verge reveals the behavior might be the result of a new in-app prompt.

"With iOS 15.1 released last month, Apple Podcasts began prompting listeners to leave a rating and review just like most third-party apps — using the standard Rating & Review prompt available to all developers," an Apple spokesperson told the publication.

It is unclear when and where the prompt is displayed, but judging by user responses referencing individual podcasts, its placement is causing confusion. Further, users are submitting thousands of reviews a day. This, of course, presents a problem for anyone seeking legitimate feedback on the Podcasts app, not the content that it hosts.

The issue does not seem impact other podcast apps, suggesting the new prompt is at fault.

Apple Podcasts has been beset by troubles since its revamp in April. The new version has spawned a litany of complaints from both podcast creators and podcast consumers who report persistent bugs that mar the user experience.

14 Comments

heli0s 10 Years · 65 comments

About 3 years ago

It’s a 3 star app at best, if we have to be objective. 1.8 was too low and 4.6 is too high.

welshdog 22 Years · 1898 comments

I don't listen to podcasts at all, but my wife does and she has recently grown to loathe the Apple Podcast app. She is experiencing all the things it has been criticized for. Additionally, I have noticed that Apple Music seems to have lost the ability to remember what I last played. If I listen in the car to anything - from my library or Apple - the next place I connect it starts playing random stuff including things from my wife's iPhone. This is new behavior that probably started with iOS 15. Even just getting back in the car without connecting to any other devices plays random stuff.

I find it incomprehensible that a company like Apple would take so long to fix bugs and failures that are giving them a lot of bad press. This stupid trick they have come up with to fluff their app ratings is just sad.

crowley 15 Years · 10431 comments

Haha, that's a sneaky trick if deliberate. If not, it's still funny.

foregoneconclusion 12 Years · 2857 comments

LOL...all this means is that ratings can be inflated regardless of 1st or 3rd party origin. Prompting users for ratings is nothing new.

Beats 4 Years · 3073 comments

This whole app idea is embarrassing. Put it back in the Music app and throw it away.