If you wish to add any of those pre-made playlists to your home screen, you can easily do so using the Add Playlist option – and if you don’t, you can completely ignore them. (If you’re not a fan of the recent bar, the Add Playlist menu also contains the option to conceal and show it.)
Your podcasts are listed below the playlists and the Recent section. The old design included categories for Playlists, Podcasts, and Recently Played Podcasts on the home page. The latter two have been replaced by a list that allows you to toggle between three modes: Inactive, Active, and Unplayed. Unplayed displays podcasts with unplayed episodes, active displays all podcasts you’ve subscribed to, and inactive displays “podcasts you’re not following that haven’t added any new episodes or appear to be dormant.” (The UI also has a nice tiny moon icon for those podcasts.) Additionally, you can pin shows to keep them at the top of the list.
Apart from the improved capabilities, the app also looks better. I wouldn’t say Overcast has ever looked horrible, but the update gives it a much more current vibe. Arment highlights updating the app’s typeface and spacing, but the most intriguing improvement is the implementation of a new theming system. You may keep Overcast’s light-mode orange and dark-mode blue colours if you choose, but I expect a lot of people will appreciate the ability to browse the palette of available colours and choose something different — and yes, you can have different colours for when the app is in light or dark mode.
