My podcast app lets you customize how far forward the "skip forward" button skips, which was really useful at first... And then my podcasts started running different length ads. It doesn't help that the only podcast I really listen to these days is Hey Riddle Riddle, where ad segments are indistinguishable from scenes
I'm almost always listening to podcasts while doing things like driving, exercising, or biking, so no I can't really dick around with my phone to skip stuff easily most of the time.
I recently discovered, the "next track" button on my steering wheel is not actually "next track" but "skip 30sec" in the podcast app (AntennaPod). Absolute game changer. I skip all sponsors now! YMMW depending on the app.
I had the same problem until I got a PineTime watch. Now I can use the navigation buttons on the watch face to skip ads (safely and responsibly, of course).
I personally don't like watches, but I would be really interested in getting one for payments. I actually have a Pixel watch for that so I don't have to find my wallet to buy something.
Not happy about the tracking, but I disabled what I could.
If PineTime could do payments, I'd buy one today. It's not happening though, which is unfortunate. But maybe I'll get one anyway to see if I like privacy-focused smart watch features.
I'll have to give it another look. Been rocking my Pebble again for a couple weeks now, I missed it quite a lot. The app is horridly outdated though, and the PineTime felt like a great stopgap until it just wouldn't stay paired.