iOS 26.2 brings notable under-the-hood improvements that boost iPhone performance, with Apple Podcasts highlighted as a key beneficiary.

These enhancements position Apple Podcasts closer to parity with Spotify and deepen creator–audience connections.

Apple is catching up to Spotify by enabling chapters and related tools, underscoring a competitive push in podcast features.

The changes reflect a broader strategy to connect creators with audiences through more robust chapter options, timestamps, and improved discoverability.

Creators retain the ability to disable automatic chapter generation if they prefer to rely solely on manually added chapters.

The update tightens overall iPhone experience beyond existing features, underscoring broader performance enhancements.

Apple reported that 2025 was a record year for Apple Podcasts in listeners, plays, and subscriptions, with the new features aimed at amplifying that momentum.

Apple Podcasts now supports chapters added by creators in episode descriptions or RSS feeds, and can also add chapters and images via hosting providers, enabling listeners to jump to specific parts and share exact segments.

Creators can supply chapters and per-chapter images for each episode via their hosting provider, either in the description or RSS feed.

Apple also noted 2025 as a record year for Apple Services, and the new podcast features are designed to further drive growth.

For English-language shows, Apple can automatically generate chapters with an “Automatically created” label to indicate AI-generated timestamps, while creators retain control over the process.

iOS 26.2 introduces timed links in Apple Podcasts, showing contextual information when podcasters discuss products, shows, or books, with automatic timed links being tested for English-language podcasts.