PodLP launches on Android flip phones

PodLP for Android flip phones launches today, making it easy to stream and download podcasts on budget-friendly Android feature phones.

PodLP on several Android flip phones

Android flip phones?

PodLP launched nearly 6 years ago in June 2020 with a focus on emerging markets through platforms like KaiOS and the JioPhone. In 2024, PodLP expanded with a new version for Cloud Phone. Today, PodLP is now available as a native Android Package (APK) targeting non-touchscreen phones with direction pad (d-pad) navigation.

Communities like r/dumbphones have grown to nearly 200,000 weekly visitors. More people are ditching their smartphone to reduce screen time and avoid “doomscrolling” on addictive social media apps. Today’s launch takes PodLP beyond “the next billion,” where it now serves an audience of listeners balancing connectedness and a “digital detox.”

Download PodLP for Android

PodLP is freely available via a direct download at apk.podlp.app. Most Android flip phones do not support Google Play. Alternative app stores will be evaluated as we collect user feedback and gauge interest.

PodLP for Android uses the same permalinks. Link to your podcast on PodLP at https://link.podlp.app/{id} using your GUID or iTunes ID. Additionally, PodLP supports Subscribe on Android.

Why flip phones?

Flip phones represent a growing niche in the west. While Android has no shortage of podcast apps, none are designed for the constrained hardware, small screens, and keypad navigation found on Android flip phones.

PodLP for Android builds on years of experience across a variety of devices and markets. It was intentionally designed and tested on a range of devices to ensure smooth performance and a native look and feel. Some test models include:

Features

PodLP for Android supports many of the same features as PodLP for KaiOS and Cloud Phone.

Screenshots of PodLP for Android

Unique to PodLP is the way it adapts across a variety of models to leverage native integration with soft key navigation, context menus, dialogs, and more. PodLP for Android looks and feels slightly different on each device because it’s reverse engineered to use vendor-specific features.

PodLP for Android launch methods

One quirk with Android flip phones is that many were not intended to show third-party applications. PodLP overcomes this limitation by offering several clever launch methods, including:

Launch PodLP via dialer secret code

Technical Details

PodLP supports Android 7+ with at least 1GB RAM. Downloads include the PodLP fragment and com.client.podlp package name in the User-Agent header. Here is an example user agent from a Qin F21.

Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 11; F21; Build/RP1A.200720.011) AndroidXMedia3/1.9.2 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) PodLP/1.0 (com.client.podlp)

PodLP for Android supports many Podcasting 2.0 features that are part of the “podcast” namespace including:

Future updates will expand this support further, based on user feedback and device constraints.

Sponsorship

PodLP has a unique and diverse audience including first-time internet users and “digital detoxers” from more than 170 countries around the world. Podcast sponsorship helps grow your listener base globally, and funds PodLP’s mission to make podcasts accessible across a range of basic phones. PodLP offers several sponsorship opportunities to put your podcast in front of new listeners. Contact sales@podlp.com to learn more.

#Podcasts #PodLP #Android #Flip Phone