The mystery of Apple Podcasts’ five-star app rating

Here are some recent five-star reviews of the Apple Podcasts app in Apple’s own App Store.

Let me know if you see a theme?

Amazing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is my favorite podcast and I am so glad I found this. I think I learned more in this podcast then in all my years in school.

Great advice for parents! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Such valuable advice for parents. I can’t wait for the next episode.

Smart man with a great mindset ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Start with his $100 million offer book and open your mind.

Alex gives away so much valuable content, it makes you want to get big enough just so you can hire him!

The best ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Absolutely the best podcast in Nigeria

Pushkin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If reality is a construction, and each postmodern self creates his/her/“their” own reality, then let’s all just say screw it and cross over into the reality called Klavanon. At least there we don’t have to look into our underpants to see who we are.

Maybe slow the sound down? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Benigno was always my favorite, but it seems like the sound is cranked to fast

Genuine Inspiration ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I find you to be a very down to earth, genuine person. You have remarkable guests and discuss topics that are relatable and current and really help with life.

Bourbon lovers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Enjoy these guys and the passion they have for America’s native spirit.

Absolute delight! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Love the podcast. To be fair I’m partially biased because Ben liked two of my Facebook posts.

Law! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoy the fact that I learned things, despite the fact that not all of them or what I want to hear. Thank you sister-in-law you’re very good at your jobs!

Makes me Laugh! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Would never have put these 3 together, but boy, they are a hysterical combination. My new favorite!

That’s right: they’re reviews of the podcasts themselves, not the Apple Podcasts app.

And that is an extremely convenient situation for Apple because actual reviews of the Apple Podcasts app most definitely do not trend toward five stars. In fact, they trend toward an abysmal 1.8-star score because the app has been remarkably buggy for months. Like many 1-star reviewers, I find it doesn’t keep track of which episodes I’ve already played and sometimes plays them out of order.

But in the nearly three months since I helped point this out at The Verge and brought it directly to Apple’s attention, the only thing that’s changed is Apple Podcasts’ rating has gone up from 4.7 to 4.9 — and each of its five little gray star marks is now completely filled in, for a five-star rating overall.

The app hasn’t received any updates during this time, by the way. Every bit of newfound goodwill is people suddenly submitting reviews for podcasts instead of reviews for the app.

Here are Apple’s three “Most Helpful” reviews of the app as of today:

Why would Apple change any of this, though? Seems to be working out great for Apple.