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Apple Reader to Feature a 7.9″ E-ink Screen, Will Ship With Apple Library Subscription eBook Service

Over the past several months a number of sources have claimed that Apple was about to get serious about competing in the ebook market. I discounted the reports as baseless clickbait hype, but it would appear I was wrong.

A trusted source has sent me several photos of Apple’s first ebook reader, as well as a lot of information on what it can do.

Yes, you read that right; Apple is going to release an ebook reader. It will be called the Apple Reader, and it will have a next-gen Domino 7.9″ E-ink screen.

The Domino E-ink screen hasn’t been announced yet, but I am told it is nearly twice as fast as existing E-ink screens, and with a resolution of 450 ppi, it is also significantly sharper. Apple has reportedly been customizing this screen for over three years, and my source says it has an improved frontlight and a touchscreen so sensitive that you could write calligraphy on it.

The Apple Reader is currently running a modified version of iOS which includes the iBooks app and Apple’s office suite but will not include support for most apps. Apple is optimizing for the screen’s performance, rather than trying to make the Apple Reader as capable as possible.

The Apple Reader will not have a speaker, but it will have Wifi and Bluetooth, and  you will be able to stream Apple Music.

Apple Reader owners will also enjoy Apple’s new subscription ebook service, the Apple Library. Apple’s alternative to Kindle Unlimited will have a million titles in it at launch, including ebooks from three of the Big Five trade publishers.

The Apple Library will cost $9.99 a month.

So when can we expect this beautiful device to reach the market and throw Amazon off-kilter?

That I do not know for certain. I was told that the Apple Reader was supposed to be announced last week and scheduled to ship this fall, but the Apple Reader was pulled from the event at the last minute.

Your guess is as good as mine as to when the Apple Reader will be announced, but I do, however, have a small bonus for you; Apple is also testing a 6″ ereader, the Apple Reader mini.

It is a less amazing but also more pocketable alternative to the Apple Reader, and it might be launched at the same time.

 

P.S. April Fools.

P.P.S. The device shown in the first couple photos is the Boyue Likebook Plus, a Chinese ereader than has a 7.8″ screen. The second model is the T62, a 6″ ereader also from Boyue. Both devices run Android, and what you see on the screen are screenshots from my friend Juli Monroe’s iPad Mini.

It is amazing what you can do with screenshots, isn’t it?

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Comments


Carmen Webster Buxton March 31, 2018 um 8:22 pm

Good one, Nate!

Nate Hoffelder March 31, 2018 um 8:22 pm

Thanks!

The new Domino E-ink screen was a good touch, no?


DaveMich March 31, 2018 um 9:04 pm

you had me for 3 or 4 paragraphs.

Nate Hoffelder March 31, 2018 um 10:22 pm

how long did it take you to figure out the other one was a joke?


Syn March 31, 2018 um 9:38 pm

First thing I did was check to see if it was April fools. THen I was like, it’s still the 31st, maybe its real.

You got me, Nate.


Vikarti Anatra March 31, 2018 um 10:36 pm

You had me for several paragraphs. After that I checked date. But it would be nice to have iBooks-in-e-Ink and better working iBooks (it’s cloud sync is garbage right now, it’s less garbage than years before but still only very basic things working)


Steve H. March 31, 2018 um 11:56 pm

Good one!


Darryl April 1, 2018 um 1:01 am

Good one Nate! I actually thought April Fools had come early with the post the other day about Amazon and The Three Body Problem!


Had me fooled! April 1, 2018 um 2:41 am

[…] Replied to a post on the-digital-reader.com : […]


Andy April 1, 2018 um 9:17 am

I like this!

Nate Hoffelder April 2, 2018 um 6:52 am

thanks!


Juli Monroe April 2, 2018 um 11:32 am

Sorry I didn’t drop in until today, but great article, and I loved seeing my screen shots in it. 🙂

I think you might have fooled me if I hadn’t been in on it.


johnnyb April 2, 2018 um 4:20 pm

Dammit, looked at the date first, saw 31st of March, got REALLY excited!

Nate Hoffelder April 2, 2018 um 4:25 pm

Yes, I fell bad about that. I so desperately wanted to get the story out there that I broke a cardinal rule.


Apple needs to turn this… — Bix Dot Blog May 22, 2020 um 10:21 pm

[…] needs to turn this April Fool’s joke from 2018 into a reality, as in the interest of my wanting a single, coherent digital ecosystem […]


As I explore whether to jump from Kindle to Kobo, … — Bix Dot Blog May 25, 2020 um 5:53 pm

[…] Bradley Chambers that Apple should make an E Ink reader for Apple Books, whether or not it’s like this joke from two Aprils ago. It’s not terribly anti-monopolistic of me, but the older I get the more I […]


Richard June 19, 2021 um 11:33 am

I’m not buying through any site that takes a commission from Amazon. Their practices are abhorrent.


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