The practical answer is not underwater Bluetooth. For pool and open-water swimming, the reliable setup is waterproof MP3 swim headphones with podcast episodes stored on the device. Swimcast makes that workflow simpler by syncing podcast episodes from iPhone to compatible MP3 swim headphones.
Swimcast is available for iPhone now. Android support is coming soon.
Why Bluetooth Is The Catch
Bluetooth signals do not travel well through water. That is why many swim headphones use local storage for submerged listening, even if some devices also support Bluetooth on land.
The Simple Setup
Use MP3 swim headphones, load the podcast episodes before you get in, and listen from the device’s local storage while swimming.
Swimcast handles the phone side of that setup:
- Add your podcast in Swimcast.
- Choose the episodes you want.
- Connect your swim headphones.
- Select the headphones folder.
- Sync before your swim.
Devices People Use For This
Swimcast is designed for MP3 swim headphones and waterproof audio players that appear as writable storage in iOS Files, including:
- Shokz OpenSwim.
- Shokz OpenSwim Pro in MP3 mode.
- AfterShokz Xtrainerz.
- H2O Audio MP3 swim players.
- FINIS Duo.
- Sony waterproof Walkman-style players, when visible to iOS.
- Similar MP3 swim headphones that expose a writable audio folder.
FAQ
Can I use AirPods or Bluetooth earbuds for swimming podcasts?
No, not for normal submerged lap swimming. Use waterproof MP3 swim headphones with local audio files.
Do I need a laptop?
Not if your headphones appear as writable storage in iOS Files. Swimcast is designed to avoid the laptop file-transfer workflow.
What headphones work with Swimcast?
MP3 swim headphones or waterproof audio players work when they appear as a writable folder on iPhone and can play MP3 files.
Is Swimcast affiliated with Shokz?
No. Product names are used only to describe compatibility.