June 27, 2018
It’s safe to say that reading books is not as popular as it once was, especially now that mobile phones have become everyone’s main device to use the internet because of its interactive entertainment. However Apple has decided to take action on this, and is trying to push more people to read with their new feature ‘Apple Books’.
Set to be released this autumn, Apple Books will be available on both iPads and iPhones so, like real books, you can take it wherever you want. Its arrival with iOS 12, was one of the points of interest in the recent WWDC 2018 event, which technology fans, not just Apple fans, are getting excited about. It’s considered by most that ‘Books’ is just a revamp of ‘iBooks’, which, although being around since 2010, hasn’t proved to be as popular as some of the other features Apple have released over the years.
As well as dropping the ‘i’ from its name, Books differs from its predecessor in a variety of ways. The UI of the app has been described as ‘cleaner’and the cover art of books are also going to be emphasised more, to perhaps appeal to more people who, although we’ve all been told not to, do judge a book by its cover.
Apple’s aforementioned changes demonstrate they are trying to make it easier to pick and read a book by utilising a newer and cleaner design, and a bigger emphasis on the more visual aspects of a book. We are used to the clear and easy-to-navigate layout from smart phones, especially from Apple, so we expect things to be easy. So if we want to read a book, we are more likely to persist if the journey to reading that book is as simple as possible.
In the olden days, it was arguably harder to purchase and read a book but thanks to technology, the internet allows you access to browse and buy a larger variety of books. However, people these days are less likely to fall asleep reading a book as they wind down for the day, instead they take their iPhones to bed and watch some YouTube videos or browse Facebook to relax.
It’s great that Apple is actively going out of their way by updating their feature to encourage people to read more. Though it could be seen that Apple aren’t just appealing to technology users to read again. The more cynical, and probably more realistic, motive behind the revamp of its reading feature is because Apple is looking to compete with Amazon, who have been dominating the virtual book market with their Kindle and Audible. This is supported by the fact that it is said that Apple has hired one of Audible’s lead executives.
Overall, Apple’s motives behind reinvigorating the reading tool is pretty clear, they want to make a reading feature to rival Amazon and for it to be as popular as their other features, the app store, itunes etc., rather than inspiring a generation of people brought up on technology to rediscover the joys of reading. Either way, the outcome is still the same, and Apple has revealed more information in regard to their new iOS 12, which is going to appeal to both fans of technology and avid readers alike, so there is cause to celebrate.
Apple Books
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/06/apple-books-all-new-for-iphone-and-ipad-celebrates-reading/
‘Cleaner UI’
Trying to compete with Amazon
