It is reportedly utilising a technology
that was developed by the startup company Podz, which Spotify acquired last
year. This feature is currently said to be available to a limited number of
users. These users get a dedicated 'Podcasts' button in the app to access the
vertical feed.
As per a report by TechCrunch, Spotify is
said to be employing the technology developed by Podz for this feature. It
reportedly uses a machine learning model that has been trained on 100,000 hours
of audio to automatically select clips from podcasts. Podz was acquired by
Spotify in June 2021.
Product designer Chris Messina shared a
test video of this the new ‘audio newsfeed' through his Twitter handle. The
video showcases a dedicated 'Podcasts' button in the app that takes users to
the vertical feed.
The feed is populated by clips from
podcasts that the users might enjoy with the layout including the cover art of
the associated podcast clip. The clip gets transcribed as it is played with the
words being highlighted as they are spoken.
The user can press the play button if they
want to continue listening to the podcast beyond the clip. There is also a '+'
button for adding the episode to 'Your Episodes' lists. It should be noted that
the new feed may undergo several changes before the final build is released.
Spotify has reportedly confirmed the use of
Podz's technology but has not shared its plans for a wider release of the
feature or a development roadmap. Spotify could be holding out as it acquires
more data to improve the service before launch.