Apple Books vs ComiXology

2023. Amazon is merging Comixology into Kindle



In a move as cosmically inevitable as Vogons reciting poetry, Amazon has unveiled a grand plan to unite the Comixology and Kindle apps into a single digital galaxy on iOS, Android, and Fire OS, with the grand convergence set for December 4, 2023. All those splendidly illustrated works previously orbiting exclusively in the Comixology app will now zoom effortlessly into your Kindle library, as if they'd always been lurking there, just beyond the next page turn. Until the cosmic alignment, you’re still free to read your comics on Comixology—but come December, Kindle will be the new command center. Fear not, for navigating the vast expanses of your new digital library is child’s play; the 'Comics & Manga' filter will summon forth your graphic treasures, while 'Books' lets you drift peacefully without the colorful clamor of comics, graphic novels, and manga. Long-pressing any title enables the classic 'Hide Book' maneuver, whisking unwanted stories into the 'Hidden' dimension, accessible only to the diligent explorer through the library filter menu. For those who dare to ponder the deeper mysteries of this epic merger, further details await just beyond the next click.


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.


2022. ComiXology to get integrated into Amazon Kindle



ComiXology was acquired by Amazon eight years ago but continued to operate independently; however, that is about to change. Upcoming changes include a complete prohibition on downloading DRM-free comics and the ComiXology app itself will be integrated into the Kindle app. The ComiXology app will soon be retired and fully merged into the main Kindle app for Android and iOS. A FAQ page is available to assist users in transitioning to the Kindle app and accessing comics. Additionally, the Kindle app has been upgraded to display the panel-by-panel ‘Guided View’.


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.


2016. Comixology launched Unlimited Comic Book Service



Comixology has introduced a new digital comic subscription service. For $5.99 per month, you can gain access to a range of comics and graphic novels. Numerous publishers are participating in this new venture, including Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, Kodansha Comics, Oni Press, Valiant Entertainment, Archie Comics, Fantagraphics Books, Humanoids, Action Lab Entertainment, Aspen Comics, Zenescope Entertainment and others. Marvel is notably missing from this new initiative, primarily because they operate their own service called Marvel Unlimited. DC is also not involved and has yet to create their own solution.


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.


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. ComiXology starts offering DRM-free backups of its digital comics



Digital comics platform comiXology, which was acquired by Amazon in April, will now allow users to download DRM-free copies of titles from participating publishers, enabling them to store and read them offline. After purchasing, eligible comics can be downloaded as PDF or CBZ (a compressed format for comic books) files. The caveat is that the major comic book publishers, Marvel and DC, are not making their titles available DRM-free. However, smaller publishers — including Image Comics, Dynamite Entertainment and MonkeyBrain Comics — are participating. Authors using comiXology’s self-publishing platform, comiXology Submit, also have the option to make their titles available DRM-free.


2014. Amazon acquires comic book ecosystem Comixology



Amazon has announced that it will acquire comiXology, a service that provides digital versions of comics from Marvel, DC and many other publishers. It functions similarly to iTunes or the Kindle Store, but for comic books. You purchase a comic through their online store, then read it either on the web or via the company’s iOS/Android apps. Currently, comiXology offers over 50,000 comics for sale. In 2013, the company introduced a self-publishing platform for comics that allows creators to upload and sell their own work—a strategy that aligns with Amazon’s own self-publishing initiatives for books. The news is confirmed by a statement from comiXology CEO David Steinberger, who notes that the company will maintain its brand, continuing as a subsidiary of Amazon.


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. Apple iBooks app is now available on OS X Desktop



Apple has adapted its ebook purchasing and reading app iBooks to the latest version of OS X, Mavericks. iBooks has traditionally been the “third” ebook store following Amazon’s Kindle store and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. This update enhances the app’s visibility on the desktop and enables users to buy books on one platform and read them on mobile devices. The desktop application allows users to organize books into collections, swipe between pages and switch to “night mode” to minimize eye strain in low-light conditions. Additionally, the app supports interactive features of iBooks titles.


2012. Flipboard adds book discovery via Apple iBooks



Flipboard is the social magazine app that links to your social networks and incorporates your favorite sources to create a personalized magazine, featuring news, articles, audio and video content. And now—books. Flipboard began as an iPad app and seems to still have a closer relationship with Apple than with Google, Kindle, or Nook. The new books section functions solely as a gateway to Apple’s iBooks store, which offers 1.5 million titles. Each book in Flipboard provides a summary and a link to iBooks, allowing readers to easily purchase a must-have addition to their iBooks library. The new section was introduced with custom bookshelves for the United States, Canada, the U.K., Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. Naturally, it seems Android Flipboard users will not have access to this new section.


2012. Apple iBooks 3.0: vertical scrolling, book updates, social reading



Today, Apple has introduced the latest version of its book reading app iBooks 3.0. It’s set to revolutionize the e-reading experience and challenge Kindle with its continuous vertical scrolling feature. At least, that’s the claim from Apple enthusiasts. Fortunately, the traditional page-turning method is still available. Other new features are considerably more practical. Firstly, it now supports receiving free updates to existing books (such as chapter additions, corrections and more). This transforms books into living documents, allowing users to keep content up-to-date. Naturally, this is mainly targeted at educational books. Additionally, iBooks users can now share their favorite excerpts and passages to their Twitter and Facebook accounts.