Overcast Update Adds Double Tap on Apple Watch

Over the weekend, I came across this Mastodon post in which it was announced popular indie podcast client Overcast, version 2025.6, received a “minor update” that includes not only the boilerplate big fixes and performance improvements, but also one accessibility enhancement of particular note: Double Tap on Apple Watch. The feature, which debuted with Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in 2023, is available in the watchOS app to start and stop Play/Pause. Overcast is made by Marco Arment.

The update is described by Arment as “not an exciting one, but good nonetheless!”

The update grabbed my attention for a few reasons. For one thing, Double Tap is, like the iPadOS pointer feature which was redesigned in iPadOS 26 such that the pointer is a Mac-like arrow rather than a circle, one feature whose origins trace back to AssistiveTouch. As with the pointer, it’s my understanding from sources the Double Tap accessibility feature—designed to help those with limited mobility, motor-wise—was handed off to the broader software engineering team within Apple Park to massage it into something with more mainstream sensibility. That Overcast users can now use Double Tap makes playback controls more accessible not only if one’s hands are full, but also if tapping the Watch’s screen would otherwise be burdensome or untenable altogether. For another reason, the advent on Double Tap in Overcast’s Watch app is yet another strong show of solidarity with the disability community by Arment. He’s been a staunch ally of disabled people dating back to days as Instapaper’s keeper, so this latest Overcast only strengthens his resolve in this regard. I interviewed Arment back in 2018 for a story for MacStories’ coverage of the App Store turning 10. He told me over email in part he considers working on accessibility “a peer to other aspects of my design and structure, such as the colors I choose or how interfaces are laid out.” Lastly, Arment has spoken positively of Apple’s new Speech APIs on ATP and his enthusiasm portends well for Overcast getting transcripts sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Overcast’s 2025.6 update is available now on the App Store.