The Podcasts app will be undergoing a minor change when iOS 14.5 comes out to the public, notably the shift from the ‘subscribe’ button to the ‘follow’ button.
Other podcast platforms such as Amazon, Audible and Spotify have already implemented their own versions of this. It’s been said that changing the word has been proven to improve engagement rate with new listeners.
Tom Webster of Edison Research says how ‘subscribe’ could have negative connotations and how YouTube, Spotify and Apple believe that the word means ‘automatically download for free’. As such, they’ve changed it to follow to adapt to the language.
Currently, the beta version of iOS 14.5 is in its third iteration. Several recognized additions include the new face unlocking technology even when the user is wearing a face mask, support for Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 game controllers, hundreds of new emojis, MagSafe Wallet haptics updates and more.