iPlayer Radio Review

Catch-up TV services have been incredibly popular since they first arrived on iOS devices, with the idea of being able to watch shows on your time and wherever you happen to be having its obvious advantages.

The BBC have taken this idea and run with it, because following on from the success of the iPlayer service for TV, we now have a dedicated app for Aunty Beeb’s numerous radio stations. It’s also clear that this app is anything but a spur of the moment release because of the polish of the interface and the impressive depth of functionality that you can get from the app. In portrait orientation you can quickly jump between stations using the icon-based dial, with every BBC station, including region and language-specific services available to users. On the subject of regions, there is also a Find Local Radio tab that gives users the chance to find the nearest BBC station to them.

Turn your iPhone to landscape and the interface morphs to show you a TV guide-style schedule of the current shows on the air, and allows you to scroll through and see what’s coming up, as far as two days in advance.

Impressively, iPlayer Radio also includes a Podcasts section where you can browse the free downloads by station and listen to them in-app. You can then even set an alarm so you can wake up to your favourite radio station. It’s very easy to see this app becoming one of your most used.