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Apple’s Latest Deals Raise Possibility of Apple Books App Coming to Android

For the longest time now optimists have been hoping that Apple would launch the iBooks app on other platforms. Given Apple’s long-standing policy of only offering their services on their hardware, that was never going to happen, but recent news suggests that Apple has changed their policy.

The WSJ reports that iTunes is coming to Samsung smart TVs:

For years, a big part of Apple’s premium experience—and justification for its premium pricing—has been that its software and services are only available on its hardware. At this year’s CES tech show in Las Vegas, it’s become apparent that the company is ready to try something different.

Samsung announced Monday that Apple’s iTunes software—and the video library it lets people make purchases from—will be available on its smart TVs. In addition, these TVs will support AirPlay 2, Apple’s wireless standard that allows Apple’s iPhones and other devices to stream content directly to those TVs. That was followed by a flurry of AirPlay 2 announcements from other TV makers including LG, Vizio and Sony .

In December, Amazon announced that Apple Music was coming to Echo speakers.

While we only have a few reports so far, the fact that Apple struck any deals at all is a sign of major changes at Apple. They’re no longer using their services to push hardware sales, and are instead trying to sell more content.

Apple Books for Android can’t be far behind. If anything, a Books Android app would actually be an easier project than putting iTunes on a Samsung smart TV; the latter requires working with Samsung’s engineers, while the former can be handled internally at Apple.

image by fdecomite via Flickr

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Comments


Mike Cane January 11, 2019 um 4:27 pm

I doubt. You’re comparing the big bucks of video to the small change of eBooks.

But if it came to pass, it’d be interesting to see how Google Books PDFs are handled on an Android Books app.

Disgusting Dude January 11, 2019 um 5:15 pm

Exactly.
Apple doesn’t have a billion bucks invested in exclusive ebook content like they have on video.
On video, the competition is Netflix with 140M subscribers, HBO with 140M, Amazon with over 100M, Hulu at 37M, and Disney set to bring over all their fans to Disney+. Apple has exactly zero paying customers and as Kindle and even Kobo proved, they can’t count on their fans ditching a well entrenched, satisfactory service from a competitor for an unproven Apple service. Brand loyalty doesn’t go that far.
They haven’t changed their thinking; they’re just trying to make sure the new TV service doesn’t turn into a total embarrassment.

Chris Meadows January 13, 2019 um 9:18 am

I likewise have my doubts. Apple hasn’t really lavished much love on iBooks ever since it completely failed to slay the Kindle, and instead embroiled Apple in an anti-trust lawsuit that resulted in a hugely expensive big black eye. Since then, it’s felt more like a thing they do for Apple owners but don’t try to promote. Changing their tune would be a major change for Apple, especially since iBooks really isn’t a huge moneymaker in any case.

But without the famously platform-insular Steve Jobs at the helm, who knows what Apple might do?

Disgusting Dude January 14, 2019 um 10:25 am

Milk the fanbase for all they’re worth while throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.
They might get lucky.
But Cook is looking awfully Scully-ish.
In particular, Cook is looking like what he is, a good COO, trying to be a CEO.
Very different skillsets and mindsets required.


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