Apple has been quiet in the digital book market ever since it was hit with a $450 million fine in 2016. Selling e-books used to be a key part of Apple’s services business but after the company and several publishers were sued by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2012 for allegedly developing a scheme to raise the price of e-books, Apple got hit with a fine and retreated. It looks like Apple wants to take the fight back to Amazon in the digital book market now.
Apple might be working on a major redesign of its iBooks reading app, reports Bloomberg, adding that the company has hired an executive from Amazon to work on the project. The new app is said to be released in the coming months.
The redesigned app is reportedly going to have a simpler interface that better highlights the books currently being read and a dedicated tab for audiobooks. It may also have a redesigned book store that looks similar to the redesign App Store that the company launched in 2017.
A hint of this redesign was discovered in the iOS 11.3 beta that Apple has released to developers. The app is called “Books” and not “iBooks” in iOS 11.3, this is in line with other services like iTunes and iTunes Podcasts that were redesigned and launched as Apple Music and Apple Podcasts.
Apple has not said anything about its plans to revamp its e-book reading app and the company hasn’t commented on this report yet.
Filed in . Read more about Ibooks.