Amazon Books vs Apple Books

2023. Amazon is attacked by AI-generated books



The universe of Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited—a vast digital realm where stories dwell and occasionally make sense—found itself facing an invasion of gibbering, nonsensical AI-generated books, like an infestation of Vogon poetry masquerading as literary art. The Teen & Young Adult Contemporary Romance eBooks category, normally a quiet sector of heartfelt confessions and awkward love triangles, was suddenly awash with algorithmically spawned drivel cunningly engineered to game the Top 100 chart, much to the despair of actual authors and sentient readers. According to Vice, a mere 19 out of 100 books in the rankings were identified as legitimate, leaving one to ponder whether the other 81 were written by AI or perhaps by particularly uninspired hyper-intelligent shades of the color blue. While Amazon appeared to have donned its corporate towel to mop up the mess, Caitlyn Lynch’s tweet shone a light on the chaos, describing it as AI bots gleefully running amok on Amazon’s turf. Her screenshot of the bestseller list was a stark reminder: most of these “books” were less about romance and more about racking up clicks for profit—presumably one of the less noble purposes of life, the universe, and everything.


2023. Amazon makes Kindle Rewards Beta program less rewarding



Amazon’s Kindle Rewards program—a rather exclusive beta affair for the lucky chosen few—promised an idyllic paradise where devoted readers could, at long last, collect points like intergalactic hitchhikers collect anecdotes. By buying Kindle Books and print books, these fortunate souls could amass Kindle Points to eventually redeem for credits toward even more books. But recently, in a move that’s left many clutching their Kindles in dismay, Amazon decided to dial down the generosity. Where once a dollar spent on Kindle books netted 5 points, now it delivers a mere 3; and print books, once good for 2 points per dollar, now only yield 1. And so, in this brave new world of lowered rewards, a determined reader must now gather a staggering 300 points just to claim a humble $3 credit. Suffice it to say, Kindle Rewards participants are grumbling across the cosmos, lamenting the shrinking spoils of their bookish loyalty.


2023. Amazon launches cheap ebook discovery program



Amazon has recently introduced a new notification system called Great on Kindle for non-fiction titles in specific markets. This program offers several compelling features such as cheaper Kindle book prices compared to print editions, high-quality images that allow zooming in for a closer look and Wikipedia integration (which is already available in most Kindle books). "Great on Kindle" is prominently placed below the book formats (Kindle, hardcover, paperback, audiobook and CD) and has its own landing page that lists all the eligible ebooks. The "Great on Kindle" program offers significant benefits for consumers who purchase Kindle editions. However, the enrollment process for authors is another key feature that sets this program apart.


2023. Apple Books is bringing back page turn animation on iOS



Apple is reintroducing page turn animation in the Books app with the latest iOS 16.4 beta for iPhone and iPad. When the update rolls out, users will be able to enjoy the classic page turn CURL animation, allowing them to swipe and gesture to peek at the next page or simply turn it as they would with a physical book. Currently, Apple Books only features the swipe animation, which results in an abrupt page turn that feels somewhat like swiping between slides. This is the default in iOS 16.4; however, you can manually set the page turns to one of four different options: Curl, Side, Infinite Scrolling and None. I know many users who stopped using the Apple Books app when iOS 15 removed the animations and switched to alternative apps that have always included them, such as Kindle.


2023. Apple Books launches catalog of AI-narrated audiobooks



In the vast, curious universe of digital storytelling, Apple Books has cheerily decided that the age of human narrators may well be overrated, inaugurating a suite of books narrated by what one might describe as a "digital voice inspired by an actual human"—though admittedly, that human may have been somewhat digitized in the process. This bold, if mildly unsettling, experiment is aimed at the highly lucrative, rapidly ballooning audiobook cosmos, which is otherwise populated by human narrators who possess, one assumes, unique vocal timbres and opinions on the matter. Naturally, some fear this could spell the end for those charmingly flawed carbon-based narrators and has all the trappings of an Apple-sized anti-competition scandal. Within Apple’s sleek and button-free Books app, a simple search for "AI narration" now unveils a cavalcade of these digitally intoned works. And while professional narrators may prepare their pitchforks, it turns out that many authors are already being nudged to narrate their own books, lured by the siren call of upfront payouts and the chance to reach more ears in less time.


2022. Apple Books is getting a bunch of new features in iOS 16



In iOS 16, which will be released this Fall, the reading app Apple Books will introduce new features that let you tailor the reading experience to your preferences. You'll have the option to select reading themes for various settings and moods, or modify the font, spacing, text size and other preferences. The audiobook player will be revamped with updated controls and a mini player that allows you to continue listening while browsing the store. You can also purchase books directly from the player while previewing them. The updated Apple Books experience will be available for both iPad and iPhone. In iOS 15, a toolbar at the top of the app offered access to the chapter index, font settings, search tools and bookmarks, but in iOS 16, these features have been relocated to the bottom of the app.


2020. Apple Books giving away hundreds of free books



Apple Books has announced that several hundred audiobooks and ebooks are now available for free. Open the Apple Books app and scroll through the featured section to find one labeled ‘Free Books.’ This offer is available exclusively to US customers. You can explore free books, read-alongs for children, cozy mysteries and audiobooks for the entire family. Apple is also highlighting that users can choose a free novel from the company’s “First in a Series, Free” section. The app features a broad selection of titles for both adults and children, ranging from Sesame Street to HG Wells and includes well-known works like *Pride and Prejudice* in audiobook format. Depending on your location, the app also offers classic titles from authors such as Shakespeare.


2019. Apple Books adds Reading Goals



Apple will introduce reading goals in Apple Books. This feature will be accessible for audiobooks and ebooks when iOS 13 launches later this year. Apple described the system as follows: “Read a book or listen to an audiobook for five minutes while waiting in line for coffee, during your commute, or before bed to meet your Daily Reading Goal. Build streaks to celebrate your successes and share books you’ve completed with the Books Read this Year collection.” Reading Goals will be available on any iOS 13 device, such as the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Mac computers. It is currently unclear if badges and achievements will be awarded or if it will simply serve as a daily reading target for audiobooks and ebooks. More details will be revealed when the public beta is released next month.


2018. iBooks rebrands as Apple Books



Apple iBooks will be rebranded as Apple Books with the release of iOS 12 later this year. It will also undergo a major redesign. A new "Reading Now" feature will display the audiobook and eBook you are currently reading and provide an indication of your progress in each title. This will be shown as an open book with the book title beneath it. The current iBooks app has sections for My Books, Featured, Top Charts, Search and Purchased at the bottom. This will be updated to Reading Now, Library, Bookstore, Audiobooks and Search. This change will make it easier to access the audiobook section, which currently requires you to open the bookstore and then click on the audiobooks tab.


2017. Amazon is renaming Kindle Books to Digital Books



Amazon is altering terminology: Kindle eBook and Kindle Edition will now be referred to as Digital Book or eBook. Dropping the word Kindle from e-books clarifies to users that an e-reader is not necessary to access e-books, as there are now various platforms Amazon uses for reading or having books read aloud. For instance, you can now have e-books read aloud to you using the Amazon Echo and Alexa.


2016. Amazon Prime Reading is now available on iPhone and iPad



Amazon Prime Reading is a new initiative allowing you to read an unlimited number of books from a rotating selection of titles, similar to a scaled-back version of Kindle Unlimited. The platform features approximately 1,000 e-books and magazines and you can now access them on the Kindle app for iPad and iPhone. All the e-books are fully compatible with Page Flip, Popular Highlights, X-Ray and Goodreads.


2016. Apple iBooks adds iCloud support for PDF files and audiobooks



Apple has just introduced a brand new update for iOS. In addition to the new nighttime reading mode (which reduces the amount of blue light emitted from the screen), iBooks has quietly received several significant enhancements. One major issue with iBooks was the lack of iCloud support for EPUB/PDF files and audiobooks. This is crucial for users who have a large e-book collection on their computers and want to read on their iPhone while on the go and on their iPad at home. You only need to upload your content to a single Apple device and iCloud will notify you on your secondary device if you want to access the content. This applies to both sideloaded content and items purchased directly from iBooks.


2016. New iOS 9.3 feature will make reading at night easier on your eyes



Apple is planning to simplify the use of your devices at night. The upcoming iOS 9.3 update will introduce a new feature called "Night Shift" that will adjust the colors of the light emitted by your iPhone or iPad's screen, depending on the time of day. The feature utilizes your current location and the clock on your device to determine the time of sunset and will automatically "shift the colors on your display to the warmer end of the spectrum," according to Apple. This concept is quite similar to f.lux, a well-known Mac and Windows app that modifies your display’s lighting according to the time of day. As it gets darker outside, the app gradually warms up the colors to reduce eye strain.


2015. Apple iBooks improves listening audiobooks



Apple has just launched iOS 9.2 with an updated iBooks app. iBooks now features support for 3D Touch, enabling users to peek and pop into pages from the table of contents, notes and bookmarks, or search results using force press gestures. iBooks also offers support for listening to an audiobook while browsing the library, reading other books, or exploring the iBooks Store.


2015. Amazon launched crowd-publishing platform Write On



Amazon has a new crowd-publishing platform called Write On, which is a direct rival to Wattpad, the social network with self-publishing authors providing their content for free and collaborating with the community to incorporate feedback into their ongoing projects. The Amazon version launched last October as an invite-only beta, but now it’s a complete product available to everyone and the beta label is removed. The Amazon platform enables anyone to share anything they’re developing at any stage. They can offer entire works, chapters, outlines, general character sketches, or even just single snippets and solicit the community for feedback. You don’t have to write to participate, either – anyone who wants only to read has plenty of content to explore and sample, organized by genre and there’s a “shuffle” feature that directs you to a random work.


2014. Apple acquired book discovery site BookLamp



Apple acquired book recommendation service BookLamp, often referred to as the Pandora of books. It connects readers to titles they would likely enjoy through its Book Genome technology. This platform can analyze a single book by breaking it down into thousands of individual data points, providing insights into what the book is about and whether it might be a good fit for a particular reader. Apple is expected to leverage this technology to enhance its own book store, iBooks, which offers over 2 million free and paid book titles. Since the acquisition, BookLamp.org has discontinued its service, but here's what we know about the company and its innovative technology.


2014. Amazon.com continues price battle against big publishers



Over the past few months, Amazon has been waging a quiet struggle with Hachette (one of the largest publishers in the world) to secure more for "co-op" (that is, marketing funds publishers spend with retailers to ensure certain in-store or, in Amazon’s case, on-website marketing). Amazon was reportedly making it more difficult for readers to obtain the company’s titles. In addition to being slower to deliver Hachette products to customers, Amazon has also ceased discounting Hachette titles as much as before. Last week, Amazon removed preorder options for upcoming titles from publisher Hachette. Remember, back in 2010, Amazon stopped selling titles from another major publisher - Macmillan. But after public outcry, Amazon surrendered.


2014. Apple iBooks Textbooks Now Available in 51 Countries



Apple is broadening its educational service iBooks Textbooks into additional countries as part of its ongoing effort to dominate the global education sector. iBooks Textbooks, which provides interactive digital textbooks, is now accessible in 51 countries across Asia, Latin America, Europe and beyond. New countries gaining access to the platform include Brazil, Italy, Japan, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia. iBooks Textbooks allows publishers to create interactive, digital-native texts for students that can be used with the iBooks app on any Mac or iOS device. “We’re excited to see how educators in even more countries will develop their new lesson plans with interactive textbooks, apps and rich digital content,” Eddy Cue, Apple's SVP of Internet Software and Services, stated.


2013. iBooks lost its bookshelf



Apple has finally refreshed its e-reader app iBooks (for iPad and iPhone) with a design inspired by iOS 7. The iBooks interface has been stripped of its physical-world metaphors like wooden textures and bookshelves. The new design is sleek, featuring minimalism without the colorful sections and adding significant depth through the use of shadows. The iBooks app allows users to download and read books. It includes the iBooks Store, where you can access the latest bestsellers or your favorite classics—anytime. Browse your collection on an elegant virtual shelf, tap a book to open it, flip through pages with a swipe or a tap and bookmark or add notes to your favorite sections.


2013. Amazon offering descounted ebooks for purchased print books



Amazon introduced a new initiative called MatchBook, offering customers a reward for purchasing a digital version of any physical book previously bought on the site. If you've ever purchased a printed copy of a book from Amazon, you can now acquire the Kindle version at a significantly reduced price — from free to $2.99. This offer extends to books bought as far back as 1995, when Amazon first launched its online bookstore. Besides being a valuable new advantage for customers, this also presents an opportunity for publishers and authors to earn more from each book they release. The program is set to launch in October.