Support for interactive e-books created with Apple's iBooks Author software may be coming soon to the iPhone, based on recent changes to iTunes Store wording noticed by Macworld's Serenity Caldwell. While iBooks Author e-books have been limited to the iPad since the software's January 2012 launch, Mac support 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.”
While this message still shows up on the Web, visit an iBooks Author book in the iTunes Store and you’ll see the following: “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.” A request for comment from Apple regarding the wording change went unanswered on Wednesday, and as of this writing, the iPhone still can’t download iBooks Author ebooks despite the text’s claims to the contrary.
Caldwell notes that while the new description certainly is not proof that iBooks Author support is coming to the iPhone, the change to a generic "iOS device" description is intriguing given that it is an inaccurate description under current iBooks compatibility.
As for how iBooks Author books would appear on the iPhone, Caldwell argues that the existing reflowable portrait mode for iPad offers a good basis for adaptation to the iPhone's screen, with resizable text wrapping alongside floating interactive elements that are key features of the iBooks Author format.
A redesigned iBooks app for iOS could be introduced alongside the final unveiling of iOS 7 at next Tuesday's media event, with the updated app presumably becoming available on the same day iOS 7 is released to the public.
Update: Apple has updated the wording on iBooks Author books to once again specify compatibility with just the iPad.
Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Monday November 10, 2025 1:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple will conceal the front-facing camera under the screen of its 2027 iPhone, a Chinese leaker said today, corroborating reports that Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will have no visible cutouts in the display.
Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station said Apple's development of under-screen camera technology was progressing as planned for adoption in 2027, one year after it will...
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by Joe Rossignol
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.
...
Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by Juli Clover
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information.
Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen.
Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue.
Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by Juli Clover
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...
Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by Joe Rossignol
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...
Apple is working on a series of new satellite connectivity features for the iPhone, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In this week's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that the new features in development include:
Apple Maps via satellite: Navigation in Apple Maps without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity.
Photos in Messages via satellite: Support for sending photos in the Messages...
Tuesday November 11, 2025 1:23 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has teamed up with Japanese fashion house ISSEY MIYAKE to launch iPhone Pocket, a 3D-knitted limited edition accessory designed to carry an iPhone, AirPods, and other everyday items.
The accessory is like a stretchy pocket, not unlike an iPod Sock, but elongated to form a strap made of a ribbed, elastic textile that fully encloses an iPhone yet allows you to glimpse the display...
I always thought with a little tweaking these ebooks are just as worthwhile as half the apps in the store. The downside is, none of my clients want their stuff in the books store, they want it in the app store, so I never get to explore this side of the Apple ecosystem...
No serious academic work will be done in a format that doesn't allow easy footnotes or endnotes, which are bread and butter for university level texts. I know there are workarounds but they are desperately bad - it should be drag and drop from Pages or Word. I couldn't write an e-book for undergraduates on this programme unless it's sorted.
Why would you want footnotes in an eBook?
"Footnote" means there is some text that you don't want in the middle of the main text, but somewhere nearby. In a printed page, "nearby" is at the bottom of the page, or at the end of a chapter. But in an eBook, "nearby" can be a view that pops up when you click on it.
iBooks is a great idea and has the potential to kill FLASH for ever, but it needs broader accessibly and a wider platform base. :(
Agreed. I just completed publication of a book, and I wanted it to be also distributed in ePub format. What a freaking nightmare! Every distributor has their own ePub implementation. It's similar to the early days of the Web, when every browser had its own implementation of HTML. I could easily export an ePub version of the book on my Mac, and it looked great on my iPhone and iPad -- but that ePub version wasn't accepted by any other distributor. The version that was accepted screwed up all my formatting. What a mess.
iBooks Author has the potential (through its simple HTML5 engine) to level the play field. But I expect that other digital publishers would have to be dragged kicking and screaming into cooperating with Apple.
This would have to be done really well, due to the lack of screen real-estate. Personally, I find iBooks Author books a little confusing to operate on the iPad as it is sometimes.
Hopefully this is thought through and integrated well.
Could work when the iPod is attached to a TV. iPhone connected to TV screen has plenty of screen space.
I wonder if authors will be able to restrict their books to iPads and computers. I have a couple books in the bookstore that would be unreadable on a phone sized screen.
You can connect an iPhone to a non-phone sized screen. And if there is some information in your book that I need right now, and all I have is my iPhone, why would you want to prevent me from going to the page and zooming in to make it readable?
Support for interactive e-books created with Apple's iBooks Author software may be coming soon to the iPhone, based on recent changes to iTunes Store wording noticed by Macworld's Serenity Caldwell. While iBooks Author e-books have been limited to the iPad since the software's January 2012 launch, Mac support 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.
