Thursday, December 12, 2024
Opinions

It’s time for Apple to give us a new service: Apple Books+

The European Union’s competition watchdog closed an investigation into how Apple treats rival audiobook developers in its Book Store.

I think it’s time for Apple to give us Apple Books+ along with Apple News+, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple Fitness, and Apple Arcade. On March 26, 2019, Andrew Orr at The MacObserver had this idea. His take: Apple Books+ would be Apple’s answer to Kindle Unlimited. 

As Andrew pointed out, for one monthly fee you could read all of the books your heart desires. Here’s his idea:

Like Apple Arcade, Apple Books+ would probably be separate from the Apple Book Store. Books created for this service could also be exclusive to it, and unlike Amazon I think Apple could get some big publishers on board. Independent authors would also benefit, if it makes it harder for their books to be pirated.

Or, publishers could just make two versions of their books: An EPUB for the Apple Book Store, and an iBook for Apple Books+. So in a way I guess it would be similar to Kindle Unlimited, with a lot of indie authors. Publishers love DRM, and if enough get on board I think it could still be a win for authors and customers.

I think that’s a great idea! How about you?

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.