Apple was a video podcast innovator. Now it’s getting with the times.

Everyone’s doing video podcasts these days, and Apple is hopping aboard the bandwagon. The company that played an integral role in the development of the podcast format more than 20 years ago is now launching a product in beta that lets users switch between audio and video versions of their favorite shows.

Apple’s video podcast product is powered by HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), an adaptive bitrate protocol developed by Apple and released in 2009. The ability to toggle between audiovisual formats is useless without a library to back it up, so Apple has partnered with companies like Acast and SiriusXM to distribute the video podcasts on their rosters. Apple is also encouraging independent creators to produce video podcasts alongside their audio shows.

Video podcasting has become an arms race, with platforms like YouTube, Spotify, Netflix, and TikTok leveling up their libraries through a mix of distribution deals, content partnerships, creator monetization programs, and product innovations. Those moves are responses to viewership numbers that characterize podcasting as an increasingly popular format, especially on TV screens (but also at gas stations, too).

By buying into the podcasting trend, Apple can support broader initiatives. For example, an Apple Music partnership with TikTok is encouraging background consumption through a “Listening Party” feature, and video podcasts are another format that is compatible with the idea of passive viewership.

In one sense, Apple is playing catch-up on that podcast front, but the company’s early embrace of serialized talk and narrative shows should not be ignored. The word “podcast” — a portmanteau of “iPod” and “broadcast” — is a reminder that many consumers first experienced the format on their Apple devices. Many of the earliest video podcasts, such as Tiki Bar TV

, were iTunes favorites that occupied prime real estate on the platform’s virtual shelves. Even broadcast TV shows like Lost got in on the fun with official companion podcasts.

As time passed, the shift to streaming media made iTunes’ downloadable video podcasts feel clunky for many consumers. The questionable quality of the Apple Podcast app didn’t help matters, though recently-launched products have improved that platform.

Apple is continuing to prioritize technical upgrades as it modernizes its video podcasting endeavor. The audio-video toggle resembles a similar feature that has facilitated Spotify’s video push, and the arrival of dynamically-inserted podcast ads lets Apple match YouTube’s offering. Video podcasts can also be downloaded for offline viewing, so if you miss that old-school iTunes experience, Apple is letting you revisit it.

In a statement, Apple SVP of Services Eddy Cue harkened back to the company’s podcasting past as he heralded its future. “Twenty years ago, Apple helped take podcasting mainstream by adding podcasts to iTunes, and more than a decade ago, we introduced the dedicated Apple Podcasts app,” Cue said. “Today marks a defining milestone in that journey. By bringing a category-leading video experience to Apple Podcasts, we’re putting creators in full control of their content and how they build their businesses, while making it easier than ever for audiences to listen to or watch podcasts.”

Apple expects its video podcasts to publicly launch in the spring. Until then, the company will stay in data-gathering mode during a developer beta period. Expect more details about the ongoing rollout over the coming months.