How to Create a Podcast App for iPhone (2026)

By Sigsten Gustavii· 27 October 2026· 8 min read

To create a podcast app, decide whose shows it plays (your own or everyone's), read episodes from the show's RSS feed, build a player that resumes where people left off and plays at their speed, add something the big podcast apps don't have, and test playback on a real iPhone. With Borel, you give it your feed and describe the app.

A show with loyal listeners can give them something the general apps can't: bonus episodes, show notes with links and pictures, a place to send questions, the archive organised by topic, and a way to support the show. That is a small, focused app, and a good fit for an AI builder.

What a podcast app needs

Where episodes come from

Every podcast already publishes an RSS feed, the same one Apple Podcasts reads; Apple lists what a feed must contain in its podcast requirements. The app reads that feed, so a new episode appears in the app when you publish it as usual, with no extra upload. For a player that searches many shows, Apple's public Search API can look up podcasts without a key; services that need a key go under Tools, in Keys, where Borel keeps it on its server.

Show notes deserve care too. Most feeds carry them as simple formatted text; ask Borel to show them with tappable links and timestamps, so "12:40 the grinder we talked about" jumps straight to that moment in the episode. Artwork per episode, if your feed has it, makes the list feel alive instead of a column of identical squares.

A player people enjoy

1. Resume exactly. Save the position often, per episode.
2. Speeds of 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x and 2x, remembered between episodes.
3. Skip back 15 seconds and forward 30, the buttons people use most.
4. A sleep timer that stops playback after 15, 30 or 60 minutes.
5. Big controls and a clear progress bar with time left.
6. Mark as played automatically near the end.

Playback runs on Apple's AVFoundation. Listening with the screen locked and controls on the lock screen are what people expect from a podcast app; check both on your own iPhone early, before you build the rest of the app around them.

Extras that make your show's app worth installing

• Topics and series that organise years of episodes better than a flat list.
• Show notes with pictures and links that open in the app.
• Ask a question for the next episode, with an optional voice note recorded in the app; see voice.
• A reminder on release day, scheduled on the phone at the time the show goes out; see reminders.
• Supporter episodes behind a subscription.
• Search across transcripts, if you publish them.

Getting listeners to install it

Your listeners already have a podcast app, so give them a reason to add yours:

1. Mention it in the episodes, with one concrete reason: "the bonus episode is only in the app".
2. Put the link in every show's notes and on your website.
3. Make the app the home of the community: questions, polls and listener stories that get read out on the show.
4. Reward early supporters, for example with their name in the credits screen.
5. Keep the free feed free. The app adds to the show; it doesn't take the regular episodes away from people's usual player.

A show with a few hundred loyal listeners can sustain an app like this, because the costs are small and the audio stays with your host.

Paid podcasts and Apple's rules

Read the full text on Apple's App Review Guidelines page.

What it costs

Because the audio stays with your podcast host, a show's app costs little to run: there is no streaming bill from Borel, only small database costs for features like questions and supporter accounts. See pricing.

What Borel won't do for you

• Host your audio. Keep your podcast host; the app reads your feed.
• Push a new-episode alert. Borel apps don't send push notifications; a release-day reminder set on the phone covers it.
• Download every episode in the background. Ask for offline downloads of chosen episodes and test them on your iPhone.
• Android. Borel makes iPhone and iPad apps.

How to choose the right way to build a podcast app

• Borel, for a native iPhone app for your own show or network, built from your feed and a description.
• Your podcast host's app program, if it offers a branded template app.
• Apple Podcasts subscriptions, if supporter episodes are all you need and you don't need your own app.
• [CatDoes](/compare/catdoes), if Android listeners matter; it builds React Native apps for both stores.

How to do it with Borel, step by step

Step 1: Give Borel your feed

Make an app for our podcast, Slow Coffee, from our RSS feed at https://example.com/feed.xml. The home screen lists episodes newest on top with artwork, date and length. The player has play, pause, back 15 and forward 30 seconds, speeds from 1x to 2x, a sleep timer and resumes where I left off. Mark an episode played near the end. Group episodes by topic using the tags in the feed. Add an Ask us screen where listeners type a question or record a short voice note. Remind me at 7:00 on Thursdays, when new episodes come out.

Rivet writes the app in Swift with SwiftUI and AVFoundation, and Xcode builds it on Borel's Mac.

Step 2: Listen in the simulator

In the iOS Simulator in your browser, play an episode, change speed and check resume.

Step 3: Listen on your iPhone

With Pro, install it with Borel Companion and take it on a walk: lock the screen, use headphones, switch apps. Ask for fixes in plain words.

Step 4: Publish

Stamp checks the app, and Publish builds and uploads it under your show's Apple Developer account.

The Bottom Line

The podcast app worth building is the one for your own show: episodes from the feed you already publish, a player that resumes and remembers your speed, and extras the general apps can't offer. Borel builds it natively from your feed and a description; test playback on your own iPhone early. Give your feed to Borel and press play on a live iPhone.

I think the podcast app worth building is the one for your own show. Give Borel your feed and press play.

– Sigsten

Make your iPhone app in Borel

Describe the app you want and see its first screens before you pay anything.