Apple Working on Redesigned Books App With 'Simpler' Interface and Overhauled Store

[MacRumors]

After changing the iBooks app to simply be called "Books" in the iOS 11.3 beta that released to developers yesterday, a new report out today by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg states that Apple is preparing to revamp the internals of the iPhone and iPad app as well.

In an update coming in the next few months -- potentially with the public release of iOS 11.3 in the spring -- Apple will redesign Books with a "simpler" interface aimed at highlighting books you're currently reading in a "Reading Now" section.

On the store side of things, Books will gain a marketplace that looks like the new iOS App Store that debuted in iOS 11, tying more of Apple's apps in together aesthetically. There will also be a dedicated tab for audio books.

According to Gurman, this major update to Books is Apple's move to take on Amazon and the Kindle digital book market again. The Books redesign will come nearly five years after Apple and five publishers were found guilty of conspiring to inflate the prices of e-books to weaken Amazon's dominant position in the market.

Apple is working on a redesigned version of its iBooks e-book reading application for iPhones and iPads and has hired an executive from Amazon to help.

This will be the biggest upgrade to Apple's e-book service in several years and provides renewed competition in a market that Amazon has dominated.

In its preparation to fight against Amazon in the e-book market, Apple last month hired a senior vice president away from Amazon's Audible business. The VP, Kashif Zafar, had also previously worked at Barnes & Noble on its Nook e-reader. His new title at Apple is "Global Head of iBooks," and he'll help Apple with "general management responsibility" across the company's global digital books unit.

Article Link: Apple Working on Redesigned Books App With 'Simpler' Interface and Overhauled Store

 

[Sephrioth]

Other platforms version, please. Like windows.

 

[nwcs]

The iBooks store could use an overhaul. Unless you’re wanting one of the trendy books it’s hard to find the specific things you’re interested in. Amazon’s isn’t much better, though, but they have a larger catalog. If Apple did something like Kindle Unlimited but with decent books instead of crap, that would make a difference. Ultimately, though, I dislike iBooks because it’s so hard to transfer the files to another device I might want to use. It’s nowhere near as hard to convert the Amazon books to something I can read on another platform.

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

Recent hire, last month, and his title is already obsolete:
"Global Head of iBooks"

Time to float your resume again, Kashif.

 

[Benjamid]

Really looking forward to the time when kids don’t realize what the symbol is based on like they do now with rotary phones sign next on the side of roads

 

[Princess Cake]

Yipee, more white space. If theres one thing we need. White space = Design, just ask Jony Ive.

"The white space is a representation of the user's soul. It is design at its simplest form. The user will see that white space and say to themselves 'well of course its like that, why would it be any other way?' we as designers spend our lives planning the ins and outs of everyday objects, and to me at least... that means white space."

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Lets hope they don't do a Music style makeover of the Books app.. On iOS9, where I am currently stuck, that thing is a piece of confusing madness.

 

[iLoveDeveloping]

Ye could you please ‘overhaul’ the crappy Apple Watch store while you’re at it Apple??

 

[Cesar Battistini]

Other platforms version, please. Like windows.

nope
[doublepost=1516885405][/doublepost]

Really looking forward to the time when kids don’t realize what the symbol is based on like they do now with rotary phones sign next on the side of roads

And the save icon witch is a floppy disk auhahuhuahua

 

[BvizioN]

Yipee, more white space. If theres one thing we need. White space = Design, just ask Jony Ive.

"The white space is a representation of the user's soul. It is design at its simplest form. The user will see that white space and say to themselves 'well of course its like that, why would it be any other way?' we as designers spend our lives planning the ins and outs of everyday objects, and to me at least... that means white space."

Books usually have white pages. At least the ones I have seen.

 

[OzyOly]

Other platforms version, please. Like windows.

It’s long overdue. We have to use windows at work and I would love to access my reference material without bringing in an iDevice.

 

[RightMACatU]

Can't help thinking about iTunes and how 'simplifying' things means removing useful features

 

[goodcow]

They're gonna make it worse, like each new version of the Podcasts app.

 

[Naimfan]

The chances of the redesign "improving" the user experience would appear to be exactly zero.

 

[MacDawg]

I read a lot of books on my iPhone, so I will be interested to see how this plays out
I'm not totally unhappy with how it works today, but any improvements will be appreciated

Would definitely like an "update all" button!

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

I guess a return to skeuomorphism is out of the question.

If the app returned to how it looked when it launched, I'd consider moving my library to it from Kobo (which even it is largely flat design now). iBooks' skeuomorphic appearance was one of the main reasons I wanted the OG iPad.

 

[TMRJIJ]

Please Apple. No more Big Bold Fonts

 

[hmark8]

After changing the iBooks app to simply be called "Books" in the iOS 11.3 beta that released to developers yesterday, a new report out today by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg states that Apple is preparing to revamp the internals of the iPhone and iPad app as well.

In an update coming in the next few months -- potentially with the public release of iOS 11.3 in the spring -- Apple will redesign Books with a "simpler" interface aimed at highlighting books you're currently reading in a "Reading Now" section.

On the store side of things, Books will gain a marketplace that looks like the new iOS App Store that debuted in iOS 11, tying more of Apple's apps in together aesthetically. There will also be a dedicated tab for audio books.

According to Gurman, this major update to Books is Apple's move to take on Amazon and the Kindle digital book market again. The Books redesign will come nearly five years after Apple and five publishers were found guilty of conspiring to inflate the prices of e-books to weaken Amazon's dominant position in the market.
In its preparation to fight against Amazon in the e-book market, Apple last month hired a senior vice president away from Amazon's Audible business. The VP, Kashif Zafar, had also previously worked at Barnes & Noble on its Nook e-reader. His new title at Apple is "Global Head of iBooks," and he'll help Apple with "general management responsibility" across the company's global digital books unit.

Article Link: Apple Working on Redesigned Books App With 'Simpler' Interface and Overhauled Store

While this is certainly good news, I remain cautious it will make much of a difference.

For many of us, we would much rather stay in the beautiful Apple eco-system whenever possible. But for Books, the Apple store is a bit of wasteland, where they don't have all of the books Amazon has and far more important is they don't have the reviews and discussions Amazon does. If I lookup a book on Amazon I can see hundreds or thousands of reviews and quickly know the positives and minuses about the book. With Apple the same book may only have 5 reviews or none, so not a great enough sample to know much of anything about the book. When Apple missed out on buying GoodReads it further sealed their fate.

Apple can continue to improve the UI, keep costs competitive, add new fun features, but people use Amazon for the reviews/community, and Apple can't build that without first having more reviews and a community. Buying something like a Good Reads gives a company a major head start, but currently there are no other GoodReads big enough and Amazon certainly won't sell it.

Books will remain popular for the millions who always use the defaults app, but will lag behind Amazon, unless they truly push getting reviews or other must have features, color e-ink screens, or Amazon maybe sells the business to focus elsewhere.

 

[MacDawg]

While this is certainly good news, I remain cautious it will make much of a difference.

For many of us, we would much rather stay in the beautiful Apple eco-system whenever possible. But for Books, the Apple store is a bit of wasteland, where they don't have all of the books Amazon has and far more important is they don't have the reviews and discussions Amazon does. If I lookup a book on Amazon I can see hundreds or thousands of reviews and quickly know the positives and minuses about the book. With Apple the same book may only have 5 reviews or none, so not a great enough sample to know much of anything about the book. When Apple missed out on buying GoodReads it further sealed their fate.

Apple can continue to improve the UI, keep costs competitive, add new fun features, but people use Amazon for the reviews/community, and Apple can't build that without first having more reviews and a community. Buying something like a Good Reads gives a company a major head start, but currently there are no other GoodReads big enough and Amazon certainly won't sell it.

Books will remain popular for the millions who always use the defaults app, but will lag behind Amazon, unless they truly push getting reviews or other must have features, color e-ink screens, or Amazon maybe sells the business to focus elsewhere.

I have no problem reading reviews on Amazon and buying my books in iBooks

 

[LovingTeddy]

Only buy books from Amazon and Google Play Store. Just order the Amazon Kindle Oasis, can't wait for it.
[doublepost=1516887935][/doublepost]

While this is certainly good news, I remain cautious it will make much of a difference.

For many of us, we would much rather stay in the beautiful Apple eco-system whenever possible. But for Books, the Apple store is a bit of wasteland, where they don't have all of the books Amazon has and far more important is they don't have the reviews and discussions Amazon does. If I lookup a book on Amazon I can see hundreds or thousands of reviews and quickly know the positives and minuses about the book. With Apple the same book may only have 5 reviews or none, so not a great enough sample to know much of anything about the book. When Apple missed out on buying GoodReads it further sealed their fate.

Apple can continue to improve the UI, keep costs competitive, add new fun features, but people use Amazon for the reviews/community, and Apple can't build that without first having more reviews and a community. Buying something like a Good Reads gives a company a major head start, but currently there are no other GoodReads big enough and Amazon certainly won't sell it.

Books will remain popular for the millions who always use the defaults app, but will lag behind Amazon, unless they truly push getting reviews or other must have features, color e-ink screens, or Amazon maybe sells the business to focus elsewhere.

Staying in a wall gardened ecosystem is watiign to be ripped off... It is not only stupid, but also expensive.

 

[Phonephreak]

Can you import purchased Nook content into iBook

 

[LovingTeddy]

I have no problem reading reviews on Amazon and buying my books in iBooks

I also have no problem reading reviews on iTunes, iBooks and buying books, movies, songs on Google Play and Amazon Book Store. Works perfectly cross platform.

 

[cloudshift]

Hopefully they'll improve the audiobook usability, and perhaps finally figure out how to remember where you left off listening to books.

 

[Jax44]

I would like to see:
A simple check off of books I have read.
An automatic pop up of every book in a series, in order and with the ones you have read shown checked off.

 

[Rogifan]

Apple still has a book store? Who knew?