If you’re a book lover, you’ll certainly love Apple Books. It’s one of the best platforms if you want access to all kinds of texts. It’s known to have a great interface and boasts a futuristic design, specific to the Apple brand. So, if you’re interested, keep reading as we’ll be taking a look at Apple’s leap into the E-book industry.
Apple Books not for you? Try Blinkist instead!
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Apple Books At A Glance
If you want a library with a wide range of titles, Apple Books is for you. Now, it wasn’t always called this. In fact, the site used to be called iBooks, reminiscent of many of Apple’s products. It was released as an app in 2010, along with the iPhone and iPad as a vision of Steve Jobs.
Over time, it progressed along with its tech counterparts, getting updated with each rendition of the iPhone. As of 2018, it took the leap and rebranded itself Apple Books.
Although it could only be used as an app, in 2013 it ventured into the world of computers, giving MacOS users to access it. As of now, it’s exclusive to Apple devices, and can only be accessed by the iPod, iPad, iPhone, and Mac computers.
We can expect Apple books to keep updating, as new technology is introduced. And possibly, it’ll be available to Windows users and android phones in the new future.
The Pros
We’ve run through everything you need to know about the service. Now, let’s dive into some of Apple Book’s many pros.
It’s Free
All IOS users have free access to Apple Books. The moment you switch your device on, you’ll see it installed on your phone, so you don’t have to pay to get use its services. If you happen to uninstall it you can always get it back for free from the Apple store whenever you want.
As you can see, it’s not a subscription service. So many users would find this appealing.
Audiobooks
Unfortunately, it’s not a site exclusive to audiobooks. Instead, everything in its library is an e-book. However, users who want to enjoy an audiobook can still use the app as all its texts can be read from page to page with the voice feature. This way, texts can be transformed into an audiobook with the flick of a button.
Free Books?
If you have an IOS device, you will have access to a number of free books with Apple Books. This is because the brand has partnered with many organizations, so its library is filled with all sorts of free texts. What’s best about this is that the free titles are what content readers love; they’re best sellers and other acclaimed works.
You may think the selection of free books is small, but it’s not. Apple has at least 30,000 free titles for users to choose, all from Project Gutenberg. With time, you can expect them to roll out more free texts.
Are You A Fan Of Oprah?
Everyone loves Oprah Winfrey, who is a modern-day icon. If you are a fan too, you’ll love using Apple Books for your audiobook needs. The service has partnered with Miss Winfrey herself and will notify users about releases of her favorite books every month. Thus, you’ll be a part of Oprah’s exclusive book club!
It Supports All Kinds Of Texts
Apple Books isn’t just for novels. Its interface is designed to support all kinds of texts, except for those in the Kindle format. Because of this, you can get books, pdf files and other documents in its library.
Download Anything You Want
As mentioned, the library supports various files. So, you can find anything you want. Once you get hold of what you want, you can download it on your phone. It will be saved on to Apple iCloud, and you can access it whenever you want.
It Looks Great
Apple devices are known for their sleek designs. You can expect a similar futuristic feel with this service too. Users have noted that it’s very chic and is possibly the easiest interface to run through. Hence, you can easily listen or read your favorite titles without getting confused.
This ease translates to your account as well, allowing you to create a library to stock your selection. Further, you adjust and customize it whenever you want.
Another bonus feature is that the interface recommends titles that are similar to books you’ve read.
The Cons
Now let’s discuss some of the cons of using the service.
It’s Only Available On IOS
If you like how it sounds so far, you might be keen to get an Apple Book account. Unfortunately, this is not possible for everyone as it’s only available on Apple devices. So, if you use Android or a Windows device, don’t get your hopes up.
It’s Limited On The Mac
Although it’s available on Mac computers, its services are limited here compared to those on IOS devices, which is a shame.
How Big Is Its Library?
What’s unfortunate is that Apple hasn’t released information on how big its library really is. Because of that, we may never know if Apple Books has a huge selection or not. However, we do know that there are over 30,000 free titles, courtesy of Project Gutenberg.
It’s Expensive?
If you go through its store, you’ll be taken back at the price of some books. They’re quite expensive if you compare them to other audiobook sites or even bookstores.
Your Books Are Gone Forever
As mentioned, you can download titles in any file you want, saving it to your iCloud. Although the file would be stored here permanently, the moment you switch to an android device, you would lose access to the book. This means it’s gone forever and so is the cash you spent on it.
How Are Your Eyes?
If you’re using the library to read e-books, you may find it a bit uncomfortable. This is because Apple devices do not offer a backlit screen. This makes reading outdoors almost impossible. However, you could always switch to the audio version of the text, eliminating this issue.
Conclusion
If you take the above points into consideration, Apple Books is a phenomenal app to get free texts. Although large in size, we don’t really know how big the library is, which makes it a risky investment.
If you have an Apple device, however, do check it out!
The Review
Apple Books Review
If you’re a book lover, you’ll certainly love Apple Books. It’s one of the best platforms if you want access to all kinds of texts. It’s known to have a great interface and boasts a futuristic design, specific to the Apple brand.
PROS
- The App is Free
- It Supports All Kinds Of Texts
- Download Anything You Want
- It Looks Great
CONS
- It’s Only Available On IOS
- It’s Limited On The Mac
- Some Audiobooks are Expensive
- Uncomfortable Viewing Experience
