Best place to buy eBooks - Kindle or Apple Books?

[Cromulent]

I've been buying all my eBooks on Kindle because I've pretty much always used Amazon, but I'm curious what benefits Apple Books has over Kindle? I have Kindle Unlimited, which is one of the reasons I use Kindle for pretty much everything but since all my devices are Apple, I thought I'd look into Apple Books.

 

[4743913]

Kindle.

Apple Books has always been an overpriced publisher money grab. If people could buy kindle books from within the app, apple books would not even exist. apple knows this.

 

[rhett7660]

I love my Kindle, the hardware is great as it does just one thing and that is it lets you read a book. I would check the pricing of authors you like and see if there is a difference in price. I haven't compared prices of books as I am pretty much a Kindle guy right now... But if you have no need for a Kindle device, price check and see if there is a price difference. I have purchased a few books from Apple Books, mainly a few things that deal with design as I wanted the color pictures etc.

I use the Kindle app on my phone and desktop computer so there is always that route to go if you want to keep everything on an Apple device and still use the Kindle store.

 

[mpetrides]

I strongly prefer getting my eBooks on Apple Books because I like the way the books look and the way they paginate.

Among other complaints about using the Kindle app (or a Kindle itself) my biggest gripe is that some Kindle books still use Amazon's asinine "locations" instead of page numbers. Locations unfortunately use numbers that run into the thousands. I don't know about you, but I can remember that I'm on page 138 a lot easier than I can remember location 14536 - 14558.

There is also something strange going on with dimming of the screen in the Kindle app to where I find I have to do a lot more fiddling to get the desired brightness at night. In Apple Books, I just set the brightness using the system brightness in the Control Panel.

The only thing I don't like about using Apple Books is that there is no app for it on Kindles. So, if I really wanted to be able to switch back and forth between my iPad mini and my Kindle, then I'd be choosing to buy the Kindle version of a book. As it is, I'm content to buy the Apple Books version of any book that's available on both, even choosing this option if the Books version is a buck more than the Kindle version. If the price difference is significantly more than that, then I'll get the Kindle version.

I just wish there were a way for me to buy a discounted version of the eBook version to accompany all of my Audible audiobooks (of which I have literally hundreds at this point). But I digress...

 

[Isamilis]

Kindle. Kindle books can be read on Apple devices. But not vice versa. You can also read kindle books in their hardware, which is very comfortable.

 

[BigMcGuire]

What device do you read on? If it is your iPhone then Kindle's app is far superior. Apple's iOS and iPad Book App will not take advantage of the entire screen - forcing massive margins on the side while Kindle's app can utilize the full screen space of an iPad/iPhone. Mac OS this is not an issue.

I started out on Google Books, went to Kindle and years ago (2017?) I went to Apple Books. Apple's book app is not great, and despite requests from this poster for years, they refuse to use full margin space on their own devices. But, it's not Amazon. There's been a few times that Amazon will have the book and Apple does not - and for the most part they're the same price, but Amazon has rewards for buying Kindle books. But for the most part, when there's a sale on Amazon it also is the same price on Apple Books.

Big plus about Apple Books is you can take an ePub file or pdf and drop it into the Books app and have it instantly available on all your devices. I have hundreds of DRM free books in my library synced across all my Apple devices - and this is pretty cool for me.

Been using Apple Books for years and years. If you're trying not to give Amazon your $, go Apple. If you already have a large Apple Books library - Apple Books is pretty good. However, if you answer no to the previous questions - Kindle is far superior. Bookerly is a great reading font. Amazon's Kindle apps actually use the entire iPhone, iPad, Mac OS screen. Kindle apps do a much better job of syncing and remembering last page location. Amazon offers rewards so you'll save a lot more money buying books long term on Amazon. Amazon eBook apps are platform independent too. Also, if you ever wanted to dive into an E-Ink reader device, actual Kindles are amazing.

I'd stay Kindle if I was you.

 

[mpetrides]

What device do you read on? If it is your iPhone then Kindle's app is far superior. Apple's iOS and iPad Book App will not take advantage of the entire screen - forcing massive margins on the side while Kindle's app can utilize the full screen space of an iPad/iPhone. Mac OS this is not an issue.

I started out on Google Books, went to Kindle and years ago (2017?) I went to Apple Books. Apple's book app is not great, and despite requests from this poster for years, they refuse to use full margin space on their own devices. But, it's not Amazon. There's been a few times that Amazon will have the book and Apple does not - and for the most part they're the same price, but Amazon has rewards for buying Kindle books. But for the most part, when there's a sale on Amazon it also is the same price on Apple Books.

Big plus about Apple Books is you can take an ePub file or pdf and drop it into the Books app and have it instantly available on all your devices. I have hundreds of DRM free books in my library synced across all my Apple devices - and this is pretty cool for me.

Been using Apple Books for years and years. If you're trying not to give Amazon your $, go Apple. If you already have a large Apple Books library - Apple Books is pretty good. However, if you answer no to the previous questions - Kindle is far superior. Bookerly is a great reading font. Amazon's Kindle apps actually use the entire iPhone, iPad, Mac OS screen. Kindle apps do a much better job of syncing and remembering last page location. Amazon offers rewards so you'll save a lot more money buying books long term on Amazon. Amazon eBook apps are platform independent too. Also, if you ever wanted to dive into an E-Ink reader device, actual Kindles are amazing.

I'd stay Kindle if I was you.

That's interesting. I use Apple Books on my iPad mini 6 and the margins have never seemed bothersome to me.

Reading on the small screen of an iPhone is annoying to me but the iPad mini is the perfect size for an eReader, since it is almost exactly the size of a trade paperback. And the mini 6 has much better text resolution than the mini 5 I had used for years before getting my mini 6 almost two years ago. As always, I think it's a matter of de gustibus.

Oh, and your post reminded me of one of the most useful features of Apple Books to me. I can download things like my weekly church bulletin (in PDF format), the local weekly newspaper (available as a PDF), and even the full Trump indictments and load them into Books and read them conveniently on my iPad mini or on any other Apple device, including my Mac.

 

[AeroSatan]

Haven't had a better ebook reading experience that I get on my Kindle Oasis anywhere else and I've used Apple Books and Google Books before. You get good prices, have an option for Kindle Unlimited reading and can use it across multiple platforms, a no brainer really.

 

[BigMcGuire]

That's interesting. I use Apple Books on my iPad mini 6 and the margins have never seemed bothersome to me.

Reading on the small screen of an iPhone is annoying to me but the iPad mini is the perfect size for an eReader, since it is almost exactly the size of a trade paperback. And the mini 6 has much better text resolution than the mini 5 I had used for years before getting my mini 6 almost two years ago. As always, I think it's a matter of de gustibus.

Oh, and your post reminded me of one of the most useful features of Apple Books to me. I can download things like my weekly church bulletin (in PDF format), the local weekly newspaper (available as a PDF), and even the full Trump indictments and load them into Books and read them conveniently on my iPad mini or on any other Apple device, including my Mac.

Yeah, I think the problem is I have a 5k computer monitor and I really like reading text that fills the screen, so my very light complaint is a personal one, not one most people will deal with lol.

I love my iPad mini - it is one of the best device I've ever consumed books on. I'm really warming up to it. I compare my book consumption and it has significantly increased since I got my mini.

Yeah, this is what initially attracted me to Apple Books - I took great pains to DRM-free my current library (with no intention to distribute) back in 2017? or so and moved my entire 300+ book library to Apple Books - and it synced to ALL my Apple Devices. Since then I've bought about 100 books.


Amazon, however, has deep discounts on books and rewards for buying books. Also, if you use Libby (Library), it is super easy to get a book to Kindle. BUT, it is device specific if you drop an unDRM'ed .mobi book into it.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Haven't had a better ebook reading experience that I get on my Kindle Oasis anywhere else and I've used Apple Books and Google Books before. You get good prices, have an option for Kindle Unlimited reading and can use it across multiple platforms, a no brainer really.

Thanks to this thread, while I was in BestBuy yesterday, I noticed the Kindle Paperwhite for over $55 off (on sale). I hadn't really used Kindles since Kindle 3. Wow, the Paperwhite is a massive step up from those days. I like how it interfaced with my phone to set it up. The UI and store is a bit painful but wow, I've read for hours and hours on it over the last few days and forgot how pleasant e-ink was.

I'd still rate iPad mini as my favorite, but Kindle Paperwhite is very close behind. The Nook Glowlight 4 that I have is a distant third. (We support our local B&N but their e-reader isn't as sharp/great).

Agreed, as much as I'd like not to give $ to Amazon (personal preference), Kindles (e-ink readers and their apps) and the Kindle book market is better. But my 400+ book library is in Apple Books so I'm stuck there for now (but not unhappily so).

 

[4743913]

Among other complaints about using the Kindle app (or a Kindle itself) my biggest gripe is that some Kindle books still use Amazon's asinine "locations" instead of page numbers. Locations unfortunately use numbers that run into the thousands. I don't know about you, but I can remember that I'm on page 138 a lot easier than I can remember location 14536 - 14558.

I never need to remember where I am. Kindle saves my place across all devices with Whispersync. Why doesn't yours?

 

[Yebubbleman]

I've been buying all my eBooks on Kindle because I've pretty much always used Amazon, but I'm curious what benefits Apple Books has over Kindle? I have Kindle Unlimited, which is one of the reasons I use Kindle for pretty much everything but since all my devices are Apple, I thought I'd look into Apple Books.

Kindle books work across several platforms and ecosystems. Apple Books only works on Apple devices. And depending on who your publisher is, Apple Books is often later to the party than Kindle.

 

[fwmireault]

Kindle books work across several platforms and ecosystems. Apple Books only works on Apple devices. And depending on who your publisher is, Apple Books is often later to the party than Kindle.

This is an important point. Over the time, you might develop a quite large e-books collection. If in 5 or 10 years, you decide to leave the Apple ecosystem for whatever reason, you will not be able to transfer any purchased book from your iBooks library to non-Apple devices. At that point, you might have spent hundreds of dollars in books.

For that reason alone, you should be cautious with buying books directly from the iBooks app. But you can always transfer your Kindle books in Apple Books if you prefer the Apple UI.

 

[HDFan]

But you can always transfer your Kindle books in Apple Books if you prefer the Apple UI.

How do you do that? The _ebok folder downloaded by the Kindle App (Mac) doesn't load into Apple Books.

I far prefer the Apple Books interface so am sometimes re-purchasing in Apple Books to avoid the Kindle interface.

 

[BigMcGuire]

How do you do that? The _ebok folder downloaded by the Kindle App (Mac) doesn't load into Apple Books.

I far prefer the Apple Books interface so am sometimes re-purchasing in Apple Books to avoid the Kindle interface.

Good question - the only way I was able to get my Kindle books un'DRMed was to buy a specific old Kindle, register it to my account, use its serial number in DeDRM on Calibre to remove the DRM to transfer my library to my Apple Books library. An that was years ago, not even sure if that works anymore. But by default, everything is DRMed now days.

I stress doing this is probably a violation of tons of agreements and very illegal if one gives away those books - not even sure if it works anymore but my understanding was every library today is DRM'ed - both Amazon/Apple.

 

[Fishrrman]

I don't use either a Kindle or Apple's "Books" app for reading.

Instead, for ebooks in "epub" or "mobi" format, I use the free "Calibre" app which has a good e-reading "sub-app".

Or, if it's an old or obscure book that is essentially just a pdf scan of the pages, I use Preview.

The times I did use Books.app, I was annoyed by the overly-large margins all around. I believe someone else mentioned that above.

For older material, archive.org can be a good source.

 

[Astrohunter]

Keep in mind that if you for example get banned on Amazon for too many returns you will lose access to all your digital purchases.

I guess it's quite unlikely but still.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Amazon has really been pushing their Kindle rewards recently.

Really amounts to some good savings if you're in the market to buy books.

Right now my entire library is stuck in Apple Books but I recently got a Kindle Paperwhite - very impressed with it, hopped on the $4.99/2 months intro to Kindle Unlimited.

Still like my iPad mini the most but nice reading my library books on the Paperwhite - got a few Unlimited books I'm going to read before the 2 month intro sub is over.

 

[mpetrides]

This is an important point. Over the time, you might develop a quite large e-books collection. If in 5 or 10 years, you decide to leave the Apple ecosystem for whatever reason, you will not be able to transfer any purchased book from your iBooks library to non-Apple devices. At that point, you might have spent hundreds of dollars in books.

For that reason alone, you should be cautious with buying books directly from the iBooks app. But you can always transfer your Kindle books in Apple Books if you prefer the Apple UI.

Well, considering my first AAPL computer was an Apple ][+ I bought new in 1980 and that still works (as of the last time I tried using it years ago), I suspect Hades will freeze over before I leave the Apple ecosystem. And I already have hundreds of books and hundreds of movies that only work in the Apple ecosystem. But your point would be well taken for an Apple newbie.

 

[mpetrides]

I never need to remember where I am. Kindle saves my place across all devices with Whispersync. Why doesn't yours?

Call me old school, but when I'm reading a book I tend to keep an eye out for what page I'm on, as well as how far I am in the book. The more closely an eBook resembles a DTB (dead tree book) the better I like it.

Mind you, I'm not a Luddite, since it drives me crazy when I reading a DTB and I don't have a search function. And I love the ability to keep my entire library in a device smaller and lighter than a trade paperback. I just prefer my eBooks to be a close to real book as possible. De gustibus...

 

[4743913]

Call me old school, but when I'm reading a book I tend to keep an eye out for what page I'm on, as well as how far I am in the book. The more closely an eBook resembles a DTB (dead tree book) the better I like it.

Mind you, I'm not a Luddite, since it drives me crazy when I reading a DTB and I don't have a search function. And I love the ability to keep my entire library in a device smaller and lighter than a trade paperback. I just prefer my eBooks to be a close to real book as possible. De gustibus...

My Kindle tells me the % of the book that I have read. Thats a more accurate indicator than page numbers to me.

 

[ignatius345]

For those who avoid Amazon, I would throw out a third option, which is the Kobo platform. The e-reader hardware is very good and comparable to Kindle. The devices also allow you to connect directly to a computer and drag and drop PDFs and epub files you own into the device. Also has built-in integration with Overdrive for borrowing ebooks from your local libarary. I've used this a lot and it works perfectly.

Also has very good integration with the Pocket article saving service, so you can save articles for your other devices and read them later on the ereader.

As far as their bookstore, it seems fine. Prices are comparable to the others. They also do have an "all you can read" monthly plan, but I haven't dug much into what's on there, as most of my books are borrowed through Overdrive.

 

[ignatius345]

Well, considering my first AAPL computer was an Apple ][+ I bought new in 1980 and that still works (as of the last time I tried using it years ago), I suspect Hades will freeze over before I leave the Apple ecosystem. And I already have hundreds of books and hundreds of movies that only work in the Apple ecosystem. But your point would be well taken for an Apple newbie.

Same. I've been using Macs since my Classic II bought in college, about seven hundred years ago. I do wish Apple would make an e-ink reader device. I find the technology just excellent for reading. I don't think they'll ever do it, but I can wish.

 

[mpetrides]

Same. I've been using Macs since my Classic II bought in college, about seven hundred years ago. I do wish Apple would make an e-ink reader device. I find the technology just excellent for reading. I don't think they'll ever do it, but I can wish.

That would be nice, wouldn't it? Ideally, it would exclusively be an eReader and low cost (like a basic Kindle). I do find I get distracted when reading on my iPad--responding to a message notification or pausing to check email or news. That's the one disadvantage I've found to using an iPad instead of a DTB (dead tree book).

 

[mpetrides]

My Kindle tells me the % of the book that I have read. Thats a more accurate indicator than page numbers to me.

So does Apple Books. But old habits die hard, I guess. I find it more meaningful to think that I am on page 126 of a book that 350ish pages long. It's probably related to the fact that that's how I marked my progress in DTBs (dead tree books) for the first 55+ years of my life.