Why Doesn’t Apple Make A Kindle-Style E-Reader – An Apple Reader!?

Richard Goodwin 18/04/2019 – 1:08pm

iBooks is decent, plenty of people buy books from it and read them on iPad and iPhone. So… why doesn’t Apple make a Kindle alternative?

I don’t know how many millions of dollars Apple has invested in iBooks, but it’s probably quite a lot. Millions of iPad and iPhone users read content on iBooks every day, so why doesn’t Apple make a proper e-reader like Amazon’s Kindle?

The Kindle is a brilliant device to read on. It’s vastly superior to iPad and iPhone for straight-up reading sessions. I do appreciate that plenty of publishers use the iPhone/iPad’s advanced color displays to create more engaging content.

That’s a given. But I’m sure millions of people would jump at the chance to own a relatively inexpensive e-reader device made by Apple. I buy books almost exclusively from Amazon for this express reason – I own and love my Kindle.

But that’s the ONLY reason. If Apple made on (or Google) and it had the same amount of content, I’d definitely consider switching my Kindle out for another E-Ink digital reading device.

Could Apple Actually Beat Amazon At E-Books?

Probably not. Amazon is the de facto player in the e-book space and has seen off plenty of competition over the years. Its Kindle ecosystem is vast, well-stocked, and loved by millions.

But still, this is Apple we’re talking about here – surely if anyone was going to give Amazon something about it’d be the people that created the iPhone and iPad?

In some instances, an Apple e-reader does make a lot of sense. But then, as always, you have to focus on the reality of Apple’s business model which is detailed beautifully by eggimage in a post on Reddit:

The thing about it is, there’d be too many downsides to having this additional product line, outweighing the upsides.

1. Many users already find keeping an ipad, in addition to the iphone and mac, redundant. Product cannibalism would happen, and lower sales quantities on each product would result in higher production cost for each unit.
2. ipads are way more versatile, even though it’s got shorter battery life and the display entirely relies on a backlit screen which isn’t as comfortable to read as Eink, carrying a single ipad allows you to do everything, as opposed to just reading books.
3. As comfortable as it is to read on Eink, the user experience is far worse than on the traditional touch screens. There’s technical limitations with Eink displays, and the latency is terrible even on the best eink devices. The screen also “flashes” whenever transitions happen.
4. There’s only grayscale eink—the color eink is NOT the same technology and isn’t as comfortable. Many books require color, for example, if you’re studying design, art history, learning photoshop…etc, grayscale books are simply far from ideal.
5. Apple’s books allow for advanced interactions. This is simply not possible with Eink. Many publishers already take advantage of this feature and create books that have interactive content, which is particularly useful when you buy reference books for learning.

Those Apple Reader Leaks – Are They Legit?

About 12 months ago, around March 2018, rumors began circulating that Apple was looking at getting more involved in the e-books market.

A device leaked, the Apple Reader, that is apparently designed to take on Amazon’s Kindle. Similarly, reports suggested that Apple would give users full access to its iBooks service for $9.99 a month – making it something of a Spotify for Books kinda deal.

The Apple Reader was rumored to have a 7.9in E-Ink display, similar to Amazon’s Kindle, and be targeted at the millions of people that use Kindles for reading in the USA.

Reports also claimed there was a smaller, 6in version of the Apple Reader in the works too. Since 2018, not much has been said about this product, meaning it is likely to stay very much in the rumor mill until we hear something more official.

Still, it’s a pretty interesting concept all the same. Would you buy an Apple Reader? Or are you totally loyal to Amazon?