Apple Updates Apple Store App with Free iBookstore Offering
Apple has quietly launched an over-the-air update to its Apple Store app today, replacing its first free content offering, Color Zen, with the children’s book Away in My Airplane by Margaret Wise Brown.
The free iBook offering was detailed in a note to Apple’s retail employees this morning (via 9to5Mac), notifying them that the download is intended to give them a reason to discuss the iBooks app and the iBookstore when communicating with customers.
Earlier this month, Apple launched an "iBooks Discovery" initiative, providing its employees with free iBooks in order to prepare them for the launch of OS X Mavericks and iOS 7. Mavericks will include the first Mac iBooks app, allowing users to read ePub files on their desktop computers.
Apple has begun offering free content via its Apple Store app in order to entice customers to download and visit the app on a regular basis, increasing their exposure to Apple products. The effort is part of a push to boost in-store sales of the iPhone, as 80% of Apple’s iPhone customers purchase their phones at third party retail locations. In a July meeting, Tim Cook noted that he would like to increase the company's iPhone sales, as it is considered to be Apple's central "gateway product."
Apple has also initiated other programs to increase iPhone sales, including an upcoming trade-in program and a Back to School program that offers customers a $50 gift card with the purchase of a new iPhone.
Away in My Airplane will be available through August 28 in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Sweden. Not all customers appear to have access to the new book at this time, which likely means Apple is delivering the update on a rolling basis.
Popular Stories
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store.
The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump.
...
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more.
Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features.
Liquid Glass Toggle
iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass.
In the Settings app, under Display...
The smarter, more capable version of Siri that Apple is developing will be powered by Google Gemini, reports Bloomberg. Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion per year for a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model that was developed by Google.
For context, parameters are a measure of how a model understands and responds to queries. More parameters generally means more...
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences.
The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
Apple today released iOS 26.1, the first major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.1 comes over a month after iOS 26 launched. iOS 26.1 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation iPhone SE.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings > General >...
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report.
Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag.
This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked.
Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
