Sources: Apple is working on a redesigned Books reading app that includes a Reading Now section, a dedicated tab for audio books, and a digital book store
Company working on new digital book reader for iPhones, iPads — iPhone maker hires former Amazon, Barnes & Noble exec for unit
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple's Books effort has been a slow rebuild after the Newsstand era: back in 2015 the company killed Newsstand in favor of a Flipboard-style News app where publishers kept their ad revenue (Newsstand's shutdown), leaving books as the neglected corner of Apple's media lineup. Meanwhile Amazon spent years deepening its iOS beachhead, adding Goodreads integration and Audible progressive playback to the Kindle app (Kindle for iOS updates).
The 2018 report — a Reading Now section, a dedicated audiobooks tab, a real store, and a hire from Amazon and Barnes & Noble to run the unit — reads as Apple finally staffing up to contest that territory. The arc that follows confirms it: by 2019 Books was slated for the same standalone-app treatment as Music, Podcasts, and TV on the Mac (the macOS app split), and by 2020 Apple was asking News+ publishers for rights to produce audio versions of stories at Apple's cost.
First-order effects
- Amazon's Kindle-for-iOS franchise, already carrying Audible playback inside Apple's App Store, gains a native first-party rival for reading time on iPhone and iPad.
- The former Amazon and Barnes & Noble executive hired for the unit puts retail-bookstore buying and merchandising experience directly inside Apple's content organization.
Second-order effects
- Publishers get a second major iOS storefront alongside Kindle, shifting negotiating leverage on ebook and audiobook terms toward whoever controls the default preinstalled reader.
- A dedicated audiobooks tab sets up Apple to compete with Audible on subscription audio — the same instinct behind its later push to produce audio versions of News+ publisher stories.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Apple consolidates every media category into its own branded app-and-store stack — music, podcasts, TV, news, and now books — squeezing third-party readers like Kindle into utility roles on iOS.
- The audiobook lane Apple opened here eventually leads to automation questions: its 2023 launch of AI-narrated books shows the company willing to generate narration itself rather than only license studio-produced audio.
The trend: Apple is converting each media category on its devices from a bundled afterthought into a standalone first-party service with its own store, moving step by step onto Amazon's content turf.