Apple Books is a digital distribution platform for e-books, developed and operated by Apple Inc. The platform was announced on October 16, 2018, and its interface was released to the public on November 1, 2018, along with an update to the iOS operating system (iOS 12.1). On February 19, 2019, Apple announced that the platform would be expanded to include audiobooks, and on March 27, 2019, the company announced the rebranding of the platform from "iBooks" to "Apple Books".
Features
The platform allows users to purchase e-books from the iTunes Store, as well as download them from the user's iCloud account for reading offline. The books are downloaded as PDF or EPUB files onto the user's device. Apple Books also offers a reading tracker feature, which allows users to see how much time they have spent reading a particular book, as well as how many pages they have read.
Design
The platform's design was inspired by the physical bookshelf, with the goal of replicating the feeling of browsing through a bookstore. The interface consists of a "Library" tab, which displays all of the user's purchased and downloaded books, as well as a "Store" tab, which allows the user to browse and purchase new books. The "Reading Now" tab displays the books that the user is currently reading, and the "Book Store" tab allows the user to browse and purchase new books.
Usability
Apple Books is generally considered to be a well-designed and user-friendly platform. The interface is clean and easy to navigate, and the reading tracker feature is a useful tool for keeping track of one's reading progress. However, there are a few drawbacks to the platform.
- First, the selection of e-books available for purchase on the iTunes Store is relatively limited compared to other e-bookstores.
- Second, Apple Books does not support the EPUB format, which is the standard format for e-books. This means that users who have purchased e-books in the EPUB format from other sources will not be able to read them on Apple Books.
- Finally, Apple Books does not offer any features for organizing or managing one's e-book collection. Despite its drawbacks, Apple Books is a popular e-book reading platform, and is likely to continue to grow in popularity in the coming years.
Conclusion
Apple Books is a digital distribution platform for e-books that offers a variety of features and benefits, but also has some drawbacks. Apple Books is a digital distribution platform for e-books that is available on a variety of devices. The platform offers a clean and easy-to-use interface, as well as a reading tracker feature to help users keep track of their reading progress. However, the selection of e-books available for purchase on the iTunes Store is relatively limited, and the platform does not support the EPUB format.
