Apple is adding a new video podcast experience to Apple Podcasts this spring, powered by HTTP Live Streaming (HLS).

The update lets users switch seamlessly between watching and listening inside the app. They can watch in full screen, rotate to horizontal view, and download episodes for offline viewing. HLS automatically adjusts video quality based on network conditions, whether on Wi-Fi or cellular.

Video episodes will also integrate with existing features. That includes personalized recommendations and editorial curation in the New tab and Category pages.

Apple says the move gives creators more control over distribution and monetization. Participating hosting providers and ad networks will support HLS video at launch, including Acast, ART19, Triton Digital, and SiriusXM.

For the first time on Apple Podcasts, creators can dynamically insert video ads, including host-read spots. This opens access to the broader video advertising market while keeping creative control in the hands of publishers. Video integrates into existing shows without affecting followers or downloads.

Apple does not charge hosting providers or creators to distribute podcasts on Apple Podcasts, whether via traditional RSS/MP3 or HLS video. However, the company will introduce an impression-based fee for participating ad networks that deliver dynamic ads in HLS video later this year.

The feature builds on Apple Podcasts’ existing reach across more than 170 countries and regions. The app supports features such as Enhance Dialogue, adjustable playback speeds from 0.5x to 3x, auto-generated chapters, timed links, and transcripts across more than 125 million episodes in 13 languages. Users can also subscribe to premium channels for exclusive content and ad-free listening.

HLS video podcast support is available starting today in beta versions of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4. The feature will roll out to iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro users, as well as on the web, later this spring.

I don’t quite recall the exact line, but there’s a scene in “Wuthering Heights” where Catherine (Margot Robbie) speaks to Nelly (Hong Chau) and finally verbalizes how she feels about Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi). She says they share the same soul. Or something very close to that.

I remember thinking how beautiful it sounded. Passionate. Honest. But also painful — because even as she admits it, she believes they can’t be together.

That felt like the key scene of the film. Everything that follows spirals out of that moment.

Love, class, and a half-heard sentence

Heathcliff isn’t just a romantic lead. He’s a servant in the Earnshaw household. He grows up alongside Catherine and Nelly, but he never truly belongs. They run wild together as children. They share a bond that feels deeper than friendship. But social class lingers in the background, quietly dictating what is acceptable.

On paper, Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif) is the right choice. He’s affluent. Proper. Stable. Choosing him preserves Catherine’s stature. Choosing Heathcliff, in her mind, would degrade it.

The tragedy is that Heathcliff only overhears part of this conversation. He hears Catherine say that being with him would degrade her. He doesn’t hear the part about shared souls. And that partial truth is enough. He leaves.

From there, the film unfolds like a prolonged consequence of a single misunderstood sentence.

Yearning that feels real

Margot Robbie plays Catherine with an earnest playfulness that makes her easy to love and frustrating at the same time. She’s energetic. Mischievous. She often pulls Heathcliff into compromising situations without hesitation. But there’s calculation underneath. She understands the world she lives in, even if she wishes she didn’t have to.

Elordi’s Heathcliff starts off reserved and protective. He doesn’t say much, but you feel how deeply he feels. Later on, when he returns, that restraint shifts. He gives in to his desires. His love turns into something sharper. Tunnel visioned. Almost self-destructive.

Nelly, meanwhile, operates in quieter ways. She observes. Nudges. And positions herself as concerned, but there’s a subtle self-centeredness to her actions. Not diabolical. Just human. Which makes the unraveling feel even more inevitable.

Frames that look like paintings

Visually, the film is dramatically composed. It rarely feels like a straightforward recreation of that time period. Instead, many scenes look like moving paintings. The frames feel intentional. Almost interpretive — like artists reimagining history rather than documenting it.

The contrast between households is especially clear. Wuthering Heights feels contained and middle class. The Linton estate is spacious and luxurious, even down to how distinctly their servants are dressed. The class divide isn’t subtle. It’s embedded in the architecture.

There are also transition shots that feel symbolic, even if I can’t fully unpack them after a single watch. The pig being slaughtered stands out the most. It lingers in a way that feels deliberate. There were several moments like that — images that seem to foreshadow something darker.

A runtime that never overstays

Despite its over two-hour runtime, I never felt the film drag. The montages used to signify time passing cut at the right moments. It never lingered too long, and it never rushed past something important. The pacing felt controlled.

Understandable isn’t the same as justified

After posting a quick exit reaction, I inevitably heard from friends who’ve read the novel. The responses were varied. Some were protective of the source material. Others were more open. As someone engaging with Wuthering Heights substantially for the first time, I can only speak to the film on its own terms.

And on its own, it works.

It even made me want to read the novel. Realistically, I might never get around to it. But the film did its job.

What I do worry about is how some viewers might walk away feeling that the protagonists’ actions were justified. They’re understandable, to a certain extent. The yearning Robbie and Elordi portray is so effective that it might transport you to a time when you felt overwhelmingly about someone.

But understandable isn’t the same as justified.

As the credits rolled, what stayed with me wasn’t the estates or the costumes or even the more dramatic confrontations. It was that earlier line about sharing the same soul. The idea that two people can recognize something that powerful — and still let it slip because the world, and their own decisions, get in the way.

That’s what lingered.

PlayStation’s State of Play is about games. However, there are a few times when the semi-regular event can spawn hype for something outside the realm of gaming. Today is one of those times. Sony Pictures and PlayStation have released more information about the upcoming Helldivers movie adaptation.

Early last year, Sony teased a variety of upcoming adaptations for its tentpole franchises. This announcement included Horizon Zero Dawn, Ghost of Tsushima, and Helldivers.

Today, as reported by Variety, the Helldivers film finally has a leading man. Jason Momoa, who starred in the Minecraft adaptation previously, will star in the film.

Since the franchise isn’t really known for a specific main character, it’s unknown who the star will play. We also don’t know his co-stars yet.

Alongside Momoa, Justin Lin will direct the film. The director is known for his work with the Fast and Furious franchise.

Plot-wise, the Helldivers franchise seems tailor-made for the movies. It’s not a supremely story-driven game, but its premise is endlessly adaptable. The games always revolve around a group of soldiers called Helldivers, who protect Super Earth from a host of alien threats. These threats include rogue robots and bug-like creatures.

The film, whatever it might tackle, will premiere on November 10, 2027.

Helldivers 2 launched back in 2024. At the time, the game was exclusive for the PlayStation and PC. However, it recently launched on the Xbox, too.

SEE ALSO: Helldivers 2 review: SIP ON SOME LIBER-TEA!