Apple Might Be Developing an Audiobooks Service
Apple in 2022 could expand its services portfolio to add an audiobooks service, according to a report from The Economist (via 9to5Mac) that outlines Apple's efforts to break into media and compete with Netflix, Amazon, and other companies.

The Economist goes over all of Apple's existing services like Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple News+, Apple Arcade and Apple Fitness before throwing in a one line mention of a possible audiobooks offering.
In the past couple of years Apple has made smaller media bets including Arcade, a subscription gaming package, News+, a publishing bundle, and Fitness+, which offers video aerobics classes. There is talk of an audiobooks service later this year.
There are no details beyond the quick mention of an audiobooks option, so it's not clear where The Economist's information is coming from nor what an audiobooks product from Apple might look like, but with Apple already competing in podcasts and books, audiobooks could be the next logical step.
Apple already sells audiobooks through its Apple Books app, but books are only sold on a one-off basis with no option for unlimited listening. Apple could perhaps develop a service similar to Amazon's Audible, which offers credits for audiobooks for a monthly fee along with a selection of "Audible Plus" titles that do not require credits.
Pricing on Audible Plus starts at $7.95 for a limited selection of audiobooks that does not include new releases, while Audible Premium Plus is priced at $14.95 for Plus access and a credit for a new book each month. Offering an audiobooks service that includes unlimited access to new audiobooks is probably unlikely given the cost and royalties involved with audiobooks, so Apple would likely need to use Amazon's format or something close to it.
Popular Stories
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support.
Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode
In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design.
The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads.
As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital."
In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh:
iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh
iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6.
Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...