iBooks

Apple announces enhanced editions of Harry Potter series available exclusively on iBooks Store

Apple on Thursday issued a press release announcing that all seven books in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter fantasy series are now available exclusively as iBooks accessible on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac devices.

The books sport interactive animations, exclusive covers, annotations from Rowling, custom Harry Potter typefaces, video and other interactive content.

This marks the first time Harry Potter books are available digitally outside J.K. Rowling's own Pottermore Shop e-commerce company, developed in partnership with Sony.

Apple Music, iTunes Movies and iBooks make their long-expected debut in China

Apple on Wednesday announced that users in China can now enjoy Apple Music, as well as browse and download their entertainment from the iTunes Store and iBooks Store, marking the first time customers in the 1.33 billion people market will have access to Apple’s entertainment ecosystem with music, movies and books right at their fingertips.

“Customers in China love the App Store and have made it our largest market in the world for app downloads,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “One of the top requests has been more great content and we’re thrilled to bring music, movies and books to China, curated by a local team of experts.”

Apple releases iOS 9 user guides for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad

Following the release of iOS 9 earlier today, Apple has now posted matching users guides for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad on the web. These new iPhone and iPad user guides for iOS 9 are available as free downloads from the iBooks Store.

The guides cover the basics of iOS 9 and focus on stuff like stock apps, various user interface improvements and new features such as enhanced Spotlight with Proactive search, 3D Touch on the new iPhones, the new News and iCloud Drive apps, side-by-side multitasking features on iPads and more.

iBooks Author updated with support for iPhone, multi-touch ePub books

Apple is on a roll with software updates today. In addition to releasing iOS 8.4 and Mac OS X 10.10.4, it's also pushed out new versions of GarageBand and now iBooks Author. The software that allows you to publish iBooks moved up to version 2.3 today.

The update won't move the needle for folks who don't use the app, but it brings about some big changes for those who do. Perhaps the biggest new feature is that you can now create iBooks for both iPhone and iPad—instead of being limited to just the tablet.

Apple loses final appeal in e-books price-fixing suit, will pay $450 million fine

A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 2013 decision finding Apple guilty for conspiring with publishers to raise e-book prices, reports The Wall Street Journal. As a result, the company is expected to pay a $450 million settlement it agreed to with private plaintiffs, 30+ states and the DOJ last year.

“We conclude that the district court correctly decided that Apple orchestrated a conspiracy among the publishers to raise e-book prices,” wrote Second Circuit Judge Debra Ann Livingston. The conspiracy “unreasonably restrained trade” in violation of the Sherman Act, the federal antitrust law, she wrote.

iOS 9 includes a share action for saving PDFs to iBooks

There's still no native option to print to PDF in iOS, but a new iOS 9 feature might the next best thing. Featured prominently in the share sheet of Apple's upcoming mobile OS update, is a new Save PDF to iBooks Activity. This new option allows users to easily turn a webpage or other document into a PDF in seconds.

New book tells the story of how the iPhone crippled BlackBerry

There is a new book coming out later this month entitled "Losing the Signal," and it explores the rise and fall of BlackBerry. The Canadian-based handset maker that once sat atop the smartphone market has spent the last two years fighting off bankruptcy.

On Friday The Wall Street Journal published an interesting excerpt from the book, which tells the story of the iPhone's debut in 2007 and how it impacted folks inside BlackBerry. It's clear that they had no idea it was coming, or what they could do to respond.

iOS 8.4 to bring textbooks and iPad-only iBooks to iPhone

When it's released ahead, during or after next month's WWDC, iOS 8.4 should at last make it possible to enjoy digital textbooks on your iPhone. Although Apple makes no mention of this feature in the official release notes accompanying today's release of iOS 8.4 beta 3, Teddy Svoronos noted it on Twitter.

If true, this is a pretty big deal. In iOS 8.4 beta 3, any publication created with Apple's free iBooks Author app, not just digital textbooks, is reportedly viewable on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus along with their video content, Study Cards, the glossary, highlights and linked online content.

Apple Watch User Guide now available as a convenient download from the iBooks Store

The official Apple Watch User Guide is now available for download on the iBooks Store. Content-wise, the free electronic book is the same as the online version that Apple published yesterday on its website, it's just optimized for the iBooks app for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac.

“Here’s everything you need to know about Apple Watch and the Apple Watch app on iPhone,” reads the blurb on the iBooks Store.

iOS 8.4 relocates Audiobooks to iBooks

As noted by MacRumors, iOS 8.4 has brought another change to the table that's remotely related to the Music app. Audiobooks—a feature that was found in the Music app for firmware prior to iOS 8.4—has been relocated to the iBooks app.

When you download or sync an audiobook to your iPhone, it'll automatically appear in the Audiobooks section of the iBooks app if running iOS 8.4. Audio books feature a small headphone icon to indicate that it's an audio book and not a normal book.

iBooks is offering exclusive sneak peek from upcoming ‘Becoming Steve Jobs’ biography

The new Steve Jobs biography by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli is launching on iBooks this Tuesday and Apple is now offering an exclusive sneak peek into the prologue and first chapter, including Schlender's first interview with Jobs when he moved to NeXT, as noted yesterday be the official iBooks Store account on Twitter.

'Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader' should appeal to everyone who — like CEO Tim Cook — felt that Walter Isaacson's official biography did Apple's legendary co-founder a great disservice.

EU rules e-books can’t be subject to lower taxes

The top court of the European Union has determined that e-books shouldn't be treated like their printed counterparts when it comes to taxes and therefore should be subject to higher tax rates, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

“But the European Commission signaled it may change the rules next year to allow for equal taxation of books in any form,” reads the report.