Chapterize 2.1: iCloud sync, enhance audio, and more
Chapterize 2.1 is out today, and I know 2.0 just came out, but there are a couple things here I really wanted to get out.
iCloud sync
iCloud sync is the headliner, in my opinion, and it's changed how I use my own app. I tend to load episodes into the app on my Mac, and before iCloud Sync, that's where I'd have to do the work. However, now I have the freedom to import the file on my Mac and then listen to the episode on my iPhone as I do a workout and add chapters where they need to go.
From there, when I get back to my Mac later, the chapters are already there, and all of this works in every direction with every feature in the app.
Enhance Audio (Mac-only)
This one's kind of huge for me. Podcaster who records at exactly the right level and edits to exactly the right audio level. But not everybody does that, including myself.
And the Mac version of Chapterize now has a one-click enhance audio button that performs two actions. First, it normalizes the audio to the expected volume for podcasts, and it reduces noise. It's not doing anything crazy with AI here. It's just using traditional tooling to get this done. If your podcast already sounds perfect, you don't need this. But if you struggle a bit, this might be a one-click fix similar to previous tools like The Levelator.
Listen to your shows
The new shows tab in version 2.0 lets you follow your shows, and get information about them. Now you can also listen to them. This is absolutely not a full podcast app in the vein of Overcast or Apple Podcasts, but if you need to listen back to part of a previous episode, this will get the job done.
Better on iPhone
Once I had iCloud Sync working, it made me work a bit more from the iPhone, and this made me realize how tough the experience was there. One of the things I've tried to do with this app is have a consistent experience across all platforms, and I think the ideal layout for working on the desktop (including iPad) is not the same as the iPhone.
As such, I've given the editing view on the iPhone a bespoke layout that works a lot better. No features are removed, but they're all more well considered for the iPhone's relatively tiny screen.
And the rest
- Give any saved show its own accent color (in the "info" button on the Shows page)
- On the Mac, Settings is now a proper preferences window
- Scrolling a long chapter list is noticeably smoother
- Fixed a bug that could make chapters disappear from an episode, and a sync issue that could leave an episode with its chapters and transcript but no audio
If you make a podcast and you're not using Chapterize yet, this is a great time to start. It's free to try on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.