It’s annoying when a book you want to read doesn’t have an audiobook version — they’re great while you’re driving, doing dishes or folding laundry. Apple is now offering authors AI-generated audiobooks of their work. Novels you otherwise wouldn’t be able to hear, you can now find in the Apple Books app. Let me show you how you can find and listen to them if you’re curious.
Apple uses AI to voice its latest audiobook catalog
Apple’s latest catalog of books uses artificial intelligence as a narrator instead of a human voice. This is the first time the Cupertino giant has used AI for audiobook narration.
The move could have a wide-reaching effect in the audiobook space and mark the beginning of the end of human narrators.
This bestselling book-summary library makes self-improvement simple
Self-improvement is a lot like cooking. If you rush it and go in too hot, you’ll probably burn out. Instead, you should take your time working on yourself with guidance from some fantastic works of nonfiction that have been boiled down to their most essential lessons.
Book-summary app Headway offers bite-size, personalized learning that you can work through at a manageable pace. It’s the season to give thanks, and part of that will be thanking yourself for not rushing your growth. You can get lifetime access to Headway for only $59.99. And up until November 23 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, you can get an additional 20% off with code HEADWAY.
Dig into a gold mine of books, audio books, articles and more from your iPhone [Deals]
The world is awash in great writing and journalism, from books to articles on the internet. That leaves a ton of stuff to sort through. So having it all in one place makes it easier to find the best content, and saves lots of time.
Scribd offers access to a vast library of content straight from any device, via the app or a web browser.
Binge on your favorite books, audiobooks, and magazines with the Netflix for reading [Deals]
Some people say it’s hard to make time for reading. But others find the challenge in being able to afford all the books they’d like to consume. In both cases this subscription service can help, bringing unlimited written content to all your devices.
iBooks revamp could bring App Store’s traffic-boosting ‘Today’ tab
Apple’s impending iBooks revamp will feature a new “Today” tab to showcase its hottest titles, according to a new report.
Sources have claimed that the new “Books” app will rollout with iOS 11.3 this spring, but recent changes in the developer betas suggest it could be on hold.
Apple confirms supported audio sources for HomePod
With HomePod just over one week away from making its debut, Apple has confirmed which audio sources are officially supported. Apple Music and AirPlay are obviously on the list, but there are some big omissions.
How to pair your AirPods with your Kindle Oasis
Amazon is rolling out an update to the Kindle Oasis which activates a hitherto-dormant Bluetooth chip, allowing you to connect it to speakers and headphones. That includes your Apple AirPods, if you have some. Today we’ll see how to connect and use your AirPods with your Kindle Oasis, and take a look at the other new features in this recent update.
Remove DRM from iTunes and Apple Music to play your audio on any device
This post is brought to you by Convertanymusic.com, maker of Apple Music Converter.
When we download music from iTunes, or audiobooks from Audible, the files that get onto our devices are DRM-protected. That means they can’t be played on “unauthorized” devices. This, let’s face it, is pretty inconvenient.
Stuck in traffic? Audiobooks app adds 1,600 free titles
Free public domain audiobooks app Audiobooks (kind of like Audible for the poor-dible) has just received a notable upgrade.
Coinciding with the app’s fifth anniversary, Audiobooks 6.0 features a redesigned interface — improving significantly on the iOS 7 overhaul which arrived last September. The improved interfaces adds book covers for easier searching, along with a better library and file management system.
The upgrade also sees the addition of around 1,600 new audiobooks to the app’s free catalog, along with the addition of podcast support.
Fall Asleep To Music With Your iPhone’s Hidden Sleep Timer [iOS Tips]
Whether this feature has been in iOS since the beginning or not, this is the first I’ve heard of it, so I’m guessing there are a few of you out there that haven’t found the sleep timer in iOS, either.
If you want to listen to music or audiobooks before you go to sleep, it’s generally a good idea to have a way to turn the music off after you’ve fallen asleep, right?
Well, it turns out that there’s a sleep timer right in iOS itself, but it might not be where you’d expect it to be.
At Last! Audible App For iPad
Audible. An amazing service, with the worst app ever. Until now, that is. Not only has Amazon (Audible’s owner) finally made a version for the iPad, it has also tweaked the iPhone version extensively.
Audiobooks.com Finally Brings Unlimited Audiobook Streaming To iOS
Audiobooks.com has today launched the first subscription service to provide unlimited access to thousands of audiobooks streamed directly to your device. The service uses an HTML5 web app and promises to enforce no monthly limits and no long-term commitments.
How To Delete Audiobooks Directly From Your iOS Device [iOS Tip]
One of the nifty little features in Apple’s iOS operating system is the ability to “swipe to delete” certain items. You can use the gesture to remove songs, podcasts, videos, text messages, emails, and more from your device, but for some bizarre reason, not audiobooks.
Here’s how to delete audiobooks directly from your iOS device — without the need for a computer.
This Week’s Must-Have iOS Apps: PhotoForge2, Foodish, Zootool & More!
This week’s roundup of must-have iOS applications begins with the second edition of PhotoForge – the popular photo manipulation tool for iOS. Completely rebuilt from the ground up, PhotoForge2 promises to be a breakthrough for image editing on the go, with unparalleled tools and amazing effects to transform your photos into masterpieces.
Foodish is a new application that claims to make dining and drinking twice as much fun (is that even possible?), by providing a quick and easy way for you to keep a record of your diet, but in a way that’s fun and enjoyable rather that dull and tedious like traditional diet tracking applications. It makes it simple for you to see how healthy or how dreadfully unhealthy (like mine) your diet is.
Zootool is a great little tool that makes bookmarking, organizing and sharing your favorite images, videos, documents and links from all over the web incredibly effortless.
Find out more about the application above and check out the rest of this week’s must-haves – including Audibly and eBay Motors – below!
Audible App Now Available For iPhone & iPod Touch
Audible.com, the provider of digital audiobooks and more, now have an application available for your iPhone & iPod Touch. It’s a free download and claims to deliver the “the most comprehensive audiobook experience ever.”
If you’re not already an Audible member, you can create a new account for free within the app, and as a bonus you will receive a free excerpt from The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World. At present, only Audible.com accounts will work, however the description states support for Audible.co.uk, .de and .fr accounts is coming soon.
Noteable features include the ability to transfer your books wirelessly between your computer and your device over Wi-Fi; multitasking for background audio playback and background downloading for compatible devices with iOS 4; and the opportunity to connect to Facebook and Twitter to let your friends know what you’re listening to.
Another nifty feature is the ability to check out your listening stats and collect “badges” for your listening habits.
For more information and to download the Audible app, check out the App Store here.