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WWDC Bombshell: iBooks is Coming to the Next Version of OSX

ibooks_author_imac_ipad[1]Apple’s keynote address at WWDC kicked off about an hour ago and I’ve just learned that they’ve dropped a bombshell. Apple is going to finally release a version of iBooks which will run on OSX.

The new app will first be available on the new version of OS X, Mavericks, which is expected to be released this Fall.

From the keynote description it sounds like the app will support all the same features as found on the iBooks app for iPad and iPhone, and it will access the same 1.8 million title ebookstore.

Early screenshots like the one below indicate that Apple has done away with the faux wood bookshelf found in the iOS version of IBooks and replaced it with a clean white layout.

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I don’t know about you but I am surprised at Apple’s radical about face. Ever since iBooks was launched in early 2010 it has only been available on iOS, and I took as a sign that Apple didn’t regard the Macbook as a reading device. This conclusion was reinforced in early 2012 when Apple released iBooks Author, which only ran on OSX.

It seemed that Apple had declared a divide between creating ebooks on OSX and consuming them on iOS, but now it seems that Apple is erasing that divide.

But I wouldn’t read too much into it. This could be a sign that Apple is growing more interested in selling ebooks, but I think it is more likely that Apple simply woke up to the fact that they were neglecting to sell ebook content on all of their hardware. Not having an OSX app left money on the table.

On the other hand, I’m not sure how much money was left on the table. Apple also announced today that they’ve shipped over 600 million iOS devices since the first iPhone launched back in 2007. That dwarfs the 90 million or so OSX devices in use.

 

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Comments


Paul June 10, 2013 um 4:21 pm

or it means they want to pull books out of iTunes, which would make a lot of sense.


Richard Herley June 10, 2013 um 4:47 pm

@Paul — If ever I visit Apple’s bookstore using a Mac, it prompts me to go via iTunes, which as I’m sure you know is (a) pre-installed with OS X and (b) a bloated brute.


pidgeon92 June 10, 2013 um 5:25 pm

I wish they would take the ebooks out of iTunes. I don’t like it that they are mixed together with my audiobooks.

That said, I haven’t any interest at all in reading books on my Mac.


Bryce W. Drennan June 10, 2013 um 6:21 pm

Now if Apple would only install lots of open archways in every panel of that garden wall…


Open in IBooks Buttons Now Showing up in iTunes – The Digital Reader October 17, 2013 um 4:56 pm

[…] announced earlier this year that iBooks for OSX would launch with OSX Mavericks, but they have not shared any info on when the […]

Paul October 17, 2013 um 6:01 pm

They are having an event about it next week I believe

Nate Hoffelder October 17, 2013 um 6:22 pm

Yes.


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