The Books app from Apple sadly behaves quite differently on macOS than on iOS and iPad OS with certain types of files, which confuses users and has other negative effects.

First, a little bit of obligatory history: The Books app which Apple currently includes on macOS, iOS and iPadOS, was called iBooks prior to iOS 12. (This same Books app is called Libros if you run your system in Castllian.) On all of these mentioned platforms, this same Books app can perfectly read any non-DRMed ebook file in the .EPUB format, and fortunately does so by default, in addition to those purchased from the Apple Books store. Fortunately, with non-DRMed .EPUB files, the user experience works consistently when the user double-clicks on the file on macOS, iOS or iPadOS. Sadly, the behavior of the Books app across these three Apple platforms with non-DRMed .M4B audiobook files is wildly different. On macOS, the same wonderful thing happens with non-DRMed .EPUB files with non-DRMed .M4B audiobook files: You double-click on the file, and it automatically opens in the Books app, showing its cover art and the metadata as it plays each chapter (i.e. the chapter or section name) and a button allows navigating any particular chapter or section. Sadly, as of publication time of this article, the Books app on iOS and iPadOS behaves wildly differently if you simply double-click a non-DRMed .M4B audiobook file on your iPhone or iPad or download it. Nothing happens. In addition, the current version of Books for iOS and iPadOS has no Import or Open function either.

According to some comments online, if a Mac user who also owns an iPhone or iPad first opens one of these non-DRMed .M4B filed on the Mac within the Books app and then shares same Apple account on her/his iPhone or iPad, that non-DRMed .M4B file will play properly inside of Books on the iPhone or iPad. I have not confirmed this, since it’s not a procedure I can recommend to all purchasers of non-DRMed .M4B audiobooks. That’s because there are many more owners of iPhones and iPads that don’t own any Mac computer. As the owner of a company (TecnoTur Publishing) that helps authors distribute and sell their own .M4B audiobooks on dedicated ecommerce websites I build for them, I sadly cannot recommend purchasers use the Books app to consume those .M4B audiobooks purchased there to consume them on an iPhone or iPad. Instead, I make a different recommendation, as I covered in my related article:

Audiobook distribution strategy in 2024 + why M4B is ideal for direct sales

It is not currently clear to me whether the behavior of Books on iPhone and iPad is intentional or it’s a bug yet to be fixed. I really believe that it behooves Apple to offer a consistent user experience for the Books app across all platforms, at least those platforms owned by Apple. (Currently, there is no Books app from Apple for Windows or for Android, although Apple does offer its Music app for both Windows and Android. This is another inconsistency from Apple, since both the Music app and the Books app are tied to a revenue center at Apple which makes money by selling content.)

I hope that Apple will update the Books app for iOS and iPadOS to make it behave as it the same for non-DRMed .M4B audiobook files as it already does with non-DRM-ed .EPUB ebook files. In the meantime, I’ll continue to recommend using BookPlayer in iOS and iPadOS. BookPlayer is free from the AppStore for iPhone and IPad platforms and solves the problem in the meantime.

Related articles

• Audiobook distribution strategy in 2024 + why M4B is ideal for direct sales (July 2024)
• Wide book distribution in 2023: My 6 tips (February 2023)
• Review: Audiobook Builder, an ideal authoring tool for audiobooks created for direct distribution (July 2024)
• To DRM or not to DRM? That is the question for today’s digital content producers (January 2011)
• Apple Podcasts adds weak CC (closed captions) with iOS 17.4 (and 17.4.1) (April 2024)

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Aplicación Libros de Apple: terriblemente incongruente entre formatos y plataformas

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Some of the manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur, BeyondPodcasting, CapicúaFM or TuSaludSecreta programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own. Allan Tépper is not liable for misuse or misunderstanding of information he shares.