Apple Previews Redesigned Books App Coming in iOS 12

[mattspace]

Well, I suppose I already have to use Cesium for downloaded music, Player Xtreme for already synced videos; now I'll just have to find a dedicated audiobook player for already downloaded audiobooks.

The maker of Cesium, also has "GreenLit" - a dedicated audiobook player, which accesses your system audiobook library, the same way Cesium accesses your system music library.
[doublepost=1528849590][/doublepost]

I will add, however, that Apple treats authors much better than Amazon. It pays them 70% of retail at all prices and charges no download fee. Amazon claims to pay 70%, but only for ebooks priced from $2.99 to $9.99, and a grossly inflated download fee makes the real royalties more like 60%. Outside that range, Amazon pays only 35%, the worst in the industry.

Last time I looked, the download fee per sale on one of my graphic novels, which sell for ~US$4, would be over US$20 on Amazon's service, if I wanted the 70% revenue cut Apple gives me.

 

[LauraJean]

In other news…. in 2019 Apple plans to rebrand a slew of products:

iBooks will become Books.

iTunes will become "Tunes"

iMac will thereafter simply be called "Mac"

iPhone will be abbreviated to "Phone"

and iCloud will be rebranded simply as "Cloud"


Last but not least, Apple Exec Jony Ive will thereafter be known as Jony Ve

To me the 'i" in Apple's product names represents Apple's enduring, unique iDentity, and it saddens me that some executive disrespectfully decided to axe it out of iBooks.

 

[69650]

The books are too expensive compared to Kindle books.

 

[0388631]

Looks like an all white version of the Kobo app.

 

[Mcmeowmers]

I hope with the Reading Now section, Books can do a better job of keeping my current book on my device. On all the versions on iOS 11, I would have to re-download whatever book I was reading every night because for some reason the app kept offloading it to iCloud.

Files app likes to do that too.

 

[bobob]

.

 

[Renko31]

Pleased I'll at last be able to create a wish list from my iPad when I see a book I want to read. It is a pain having to remember to do it on my Mac.
Would like the ability to remove books I no longer want so they don't clog up my library.

 

[Keane16]

Looks like Books gets the same treatment as Music and Videos/TV... nothing more than a storefront with access to my purchases buried under advertisements posing as "recommendations."

How are your purchases buried? The app opens to the Reading Now tab (which shows you the books and audiobooks you're currently reading/listening to). Then there's a library tab which holds your collection (no recommendations?)

To access the storefront you'd have to go the Book Store?

Or are you talking about something else?


Same with Music, the app opens to Library - you'd have to go to another part of the app to see any recommendations.

 

[himanshumodi]

I think it looks nice but its still way behind what Amazon offers.

I would love to see Audio Books and Books to be one and the same. As kindle does below... Also book/audiobook subscription App


When you can't read, listen.
Now you can switch between reading and listening to your Kindle books in the Kindle App.

Just pop in your headphones, tap the button, and keep the story going... in the car, in the gym, in the kitchen, or wherever your day takes you. Whenever your eyes are occupied but your mind is free, your story is ready for listening.

How does that work on kindle? I have an audible subscription and have bought "whispersync" enabled books, but couldn't quite figure out how to do this hand-off. Not that I tried to hard, to be honest.

On topic - Is Books even close to Amazon/Audible's offerings? I have been using Kindle books so long, and have never really found it lacking greatly to see elsewhere.

Though am not a fan of Kindle app in it's latest form.

 

[Newton1600]

I think it looks nice but its still way behind what Amazon offers.

I would love to see Audio Books and Books to be one and the same. As kindle does below... Also book/audiobook subscription App


When you can't read, listen.
Now you can switch between reading and listening to your Kindle books in the Kindle App.

Just pop in your headphones, tap the button, and keep the story going... in the car, in the gym, in the kitchen, or wherever your day takes you. Whenever your eyes are occupied but your mind is free, your story is ready for listening.

I want the look and feel of apples app with amazons library and features...

 

[jimthing]

Others are complaining about the appearance. I will look at iBooks from the perspective of a writer.

There continues to be serious issues with with how ebooks are sold. I write, edit and publish ebooks for medical and nursing students. I offer them a fixed-format version that looks almost identical to the printed version and can be read on iPads. I also offer a reflowable version more suited for iPhones. Unfortunately, Apple forces me to sell those two versions separately, which means my readers have to buy both separately—paying twice for the same content. I'd be quite happy to sell them as a package. Apple needs to offer a way to sell them that way.

I don't think that's entirely true.

See David Sparks' recent iPhone Field Guide where he's been able to offer a dual version that does both modes. He talks about how he achieved it on his Mac Power Users podcast.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/iphone-field-guide/id1366611031?mt=11
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mac-power-users/id458066753?mt=2

It sounded somewhat of a cludge for him to do though, so good luck!

 

[nia820]

Too little too late. I tried using iBooks in the past, but it’s awful. I’ll stick to my kindle app.

 

[dgdosen]

I'm reading a book with the new books app... it's fine - but I just tried to search in text and... there's no UI for it.

Does search for Books work for anyone on iOS 12?

 

[profets]

I'm reading a book with the new books app... it's fine - but I just tried to search in text and... there's no UI for it.

Does search for Books work for anyone on iOS 12?

LOL just tried myself and nothing happens when tapping the search icon. Weird.

 

[Solomani]

I'm reading a book with the new books app... it's fine - but I just tried to search in text and... there's no UI for it.

Does search for Books work for anyone on iOS 12?

Reportable bug? Or an iOS 12 feature that's "not yet finished"?