Audio dramas, podcasts and YouTube in one queue: how zentr works

The short version

• zentr brings audio dramas, Apple Music, podcasts, YouTube and your own files into one inbox and one queue.
• Favorites → Inbox → Queue: you mark what matters, new items land chronologically in the inbox, and you set the order by drag and drop.
• No algorithm and no account: your library and positions live on your device and in your iCloud.
• Apple Music content needs a subscription. iPhone and iPad from iOS 26.2, free in the TestFlight beta.

The problem: everything you listen to and watch lives somewhere else

Music and audio dramas in Apple Music, podcasts in the podcast app, video talks on YouTube, old audio drama CDs as MP3s in the Files app. Every app has its own library, its own queue and remembers its own position – or doesn't. If you want to watch a YouTube video, then hear an audio drama and then a calm album to fall asleep to, you switch apps three times.

That's where zentr comes in. The idea fits in three words: Favorites → Inbox → Queue.

1. Favorites: what matters to you

You mark what you want to follow: artists on Apple Music, audio drama series, podcasts and YouTube channels. One tap, one list. Only what you picked this way goes into your inbox and queue. No algorithm pushes things in between there; you only see suggestions when you go browsing in Find yourself. We explain why in YouTube without the algorithm.

2. Inbox: what's new

Every new podcast episode, album, audio drama episode and video from your favorites lands in one shared inbox – unseen and newest at the top. You can rearrange it with drag and drop. As appgefahren put it, that makes zentr feel more like a personal feed than a classic streaming library.

Unlike a feed, an inbox is empty at some point. Swipe away what you've heard or don't want – or straight into the queue. You know you haven't missed anything, and you don't have to scroll forever. zentr fetches new episodes in the background and can notify you.

3. Queue: what plays next

From the inbox or your library you drag things into one shared queue – whatever the source: albums, audio drama episodes, podcast episodes, your own files and YouTube videos. A podcast, then an album, then two audio drama episodes: you set the order with drag and drop. With auto-play (on by default) the next item starts by itself.

Worth knowing: the queue doesn't depend on the inbox. You don't have to wait for something new to come out. Pick an old audio drama episode, an album or a video and play it right away – or add it to the top or the bottom of the queue.

Filters: keeping track

When audio dramas, music, podcasts and videos share one inbox and one queue, it can get busy. That's why both can be filtered:

• By section: audio dramas, music, podcasts or YouTube – one tap and you only see that part.
• By format: audio only, video only or playlists only.
• By search: across everything currently in your inbox or queue.

The filter applies to playback too: with the queue filtered to audio dramas, auto-play only runs through the visible episodes. Audio dramas at night, podcasts in the morning – without maintaining two queues.

Made for audio dramas

Audio dramas were the starting point for zentr. appgefahren especially pointed out that the app remembers your progress – important for episodes you rarely hear in one go. In practice:

• Every episode remembers its position, even if you listen to something else in between – and syncs across your devices via iCloud.
• Episodes in a sensible order: “Folge 2” comes before “Folge 10”. Optional smart sorting with Apple Intelligence orders series by episode number, right on the device.
• Chapters can be picked, skipped and hidden. An optional chapter filter automatically skips recaps, theme music or credits in audio dramas.
• New episodes of your series show up in the inbox automatically.

Which audio dramas Apple Music offers in which country is covered in our country check.

Apple Music and your own files

zentr is built right into Apple Music, so you need an active Apple Music subscription for music and audio dramas from its catalog – appgefahren mentions that too. Spotify can't be supported, unfortunately, because Spotify doesn't offer a full interface for third-party players.

You can import your own audio and video files: audio as MP3, M4A, M4B, AAC, WAV, FLAC or AIFF, video as MP4, MOV or M4V. zentr keeps them in its own folder in your iCloud Drive, so they're on all your devices without ever touching a server of ours. A step-by-step guide for CDs and MP3s is in Audio drama MP3s and CDs on your iPhone.

The details

What appgefahren listed as handy extras makes the difference for many people day to day:

• Sleep timer with a gentle fade-out, a Live Activity on the lock screen and Last Nights, which use sleep data from Apple Health to rewind to just before you fell asleep – more in Falling asleep to audio dramas.
• Playback speed in seven steps from 0.75× to 2× – for audio dramas, podcasts and videos.
• Offline downloads for audio and video podcasts, Wi-Fi only if you like.
• Podcast transcripts from the feed or created right on the device, plus automatic chapters for episodes that have none.
• Podcast transcripts from the feed or created right on the device, plus automatic chapters for episodes that have none.
• CarPlay with queue, inbox and favorites – more in Audio dramas in the car.
• Color themes for every mood plus colors taken from the artwork, big covers and optional compact cards.
• Widgets and Shortcuts for continue listening, inbox and queue.

Privacy

zentr works without a user account. Your library, queue, positions and settings live on your device and in your private iCloud, and that's where they stay: we run no server that stores your library, and we build in no ad tracking. To find bugs and see which features get used, zentr sends anonymous crash reports and anonymous usage statistics: no IP address, no episode titles, nothing about YouTube, your own files or health data. In the TestFlight beta they include the names of audio drama series, artists and podcasts you play. You can turn both off under Settings → Legal.

Where things stand

zentr is in beta. You can install it through Apple's TestFlight while spots are available – in the beta you unlock zentr Play once for free. In the App Store, browsing, following and YouTube stay free; playing music, audio dramas, podcasts and your own files, the sleep timer and stats then need zentr Play, as a subscription or one-off purchase. iPhone and iPad on iOS 26.2 or later are supported, and a Mac version is in beta. We build the app in Lucerne, Switzerland, and welcome every bit of feedback – right from TestFlight or by email to mail@zen-tr.com.