Apple Books
Apple’s reading library and bookstore; a useful baseline before paying for a specialist reader.
Read a compatible ebook collection
Try the included reading app before adding another service for ordinary ebook reading.
Before you choose: Book purchases, file compatibility and annotation export are separate questions.
Visit the official product page →The essentials
- Platforms
- iPhone · iPad · macOS
- Purchase model
- Free reader · books sold separately
- Developer / project
- Apple
- US App Store snapshot
- v5.4 · minimum OS 10.0 · Free to download. In-app purchases may be additional.
Checked 2026-10-18 · Verify current listing - App Store rating
- 4.5/5 · 104,043 ratings · US · 2026-10-18
Apple listing snapshot, not an iApp4Me score or a rating of one particular feature.
Price & purchase options
- Reader app: Free
- Books and audiobooks: individually priced
Book availability, prices and purchase access depend on region.
US App Store · USD · checked 2026-10-18 · Verify the current offer ↗. Taxes, promotions and checkout eligibility may change the amount.
Inside the app
Developer-published product images. Captions identify the platform and source; these are not our test captures.
Apple Books
Who it suits
- Checking whether the included reading app is enough
- Reading a compatible personal ebook collection
When to choose something else
- Assuming any file from any ebook store will open
- An unverified bulk export pipeline for every annotation format
What reviewers and users say
Our summaries of linked accounts—not our own experience or a vote-based ranking. Older versions and different platforms are labeled. Sources reviewed October 18, 2026.
App Store · Duke of Bruce
Oct 5, 2025 · iPad · version not stated
This reader likes the simple interface and Apple-device integration, but reports that notes attached to PDF highlights disappear after reopening a file while the highlights remain.
Read in context: A historical, unreplicated report—not evidence that all current books or annotations are affected. Critical research notes should have a verified export or backup path.
Apple Books · App Store reader examples
US feed · 50 recent entries retrieved 2026-10-18. Up to one positive and one critical example selected from that feed; not a representative sentiment survey.
tmchugh52805 · 2026-10-16 · 5/5 · v5.4
“I think it’s easy to use, great variety and decent…”Read the source feed ↗
It’s u boy Jesus follower · 2026-10-16 · 1/5 · v5.4
“So I used to love reading in till I went…”Read the source feed ↗
How to read disagreement
Different opinions can reflect different jobs, versions, devices or paid plans. We do not call a few comments “the consensus.” A consequential factual conflict that remains after checking those differences is a candidate for a focused hands-on test. A preference for one interface over another usually is not.
Features & tradeoffs
Features below come from the linked provider documentation. The recommendations above are our editorial interpretation.
- Book library
- EPUB import on Mac
- Book highlighting and notes
- PDF reading and Markup on iPhone
- Apple-device reading workflow
Limitations & considerations
- Book purchases and regional availability are separate from the free reader app.
- EPUB notes and PDF markup are different workflows. The cited note-loss account is historical and unreplicated; keep an independent copy of critical notes.
Documented features, attributed opinions and explicitly labeled hands-on observations are different kinds of evidence. We do not infer unmeasured performance or privacy guarantees.
Privacy & permissions
Check the provider’s policy for the exact feature you intend to use. A store privacy label is developer-reported; it is not an independent network audit. We only call processing offline when the evidence establishes that workflow.
Sources
Product facts checked October 18, 2026. Independent and user perspectives, where available, are attributed above. Missing external coverage is not treated as a negative verdict.
- Apple Books import on Mac
Official EPUB and other-file import instructions; does not prove all purchased ebook formats are portable.
- Apple Books annotations on iPhone
Official book highlighting and note sharing instructions; exact current OS presentation needs checking.
- Apple Books PDF reading on iPhone
PDF sharing and Markup instructions; EPUB annotation behavior should not be generalized to PDFs.