Interactive eBooks created with iBooks Author have always been relegated to iPad version. The large screen makes optimizing textbooks, kids books and a slew of other content really shine. iBooks support for the Mac will be coming as part of Apple’s launch of the full iBooks experience in OS X Mavericks, and iPhone support may also be in the works.
In the past, viewing an iBooks Author-created ebook online or via iTunes displayed the following message under the heading of ‘requirements’: “This book can only be viewed using iBooks 3.0 or later on an iPad. iOS 5.1 or later is required.”
Today the text has been updated in the iTunes Store and you now see “To view this book, you must have an iOS device with iBooks 3.0 or later and iOS 5.1 or later, or a Mac with iBooks 1.0 or later and OS X 10.9 or later.”
There is a strong likelihood that when Apple has their unveiling next week, where they will announce a new iPhone lineup, enhanced eBooks will play a role. This small change in text for iPhone on the iTunes store is an indication that they company plans to allow for EPUB 3 books to run on the iPhone.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
