Infinite Loop / The Apple Ecosystem

Hands-on:’s new mobile apps functional, but limited

The iOS app works as advertised, but needs wider selection and better usability. has released its first mobile apps for iOS and Android, allowing users to stream unlimited content for $24.95 per month. The apps also allow users to download two books at a time for offline listening, and can function over both WiFi and a cellular connection.

I'm not too much of an audiobook person myself—I often feel that I don't absorb as much from a book when I listen to it instead of reading—but I've been known to buy an audiobook from the iTunes Store on occasion. Usually it's because I'm about to go on a plane ride where I don't feel like using my eyes, or I'm preparing for some long and boring runs that are begging to be injected with some kind of brain-stimulating material.

So, the new Audiobooks app piqued my interest. I was curious to see whether the user experience was better than simply purchasing individual audiobooks from iTunes—those are usually offered through and can often be expensive. The app allows access to some 10,000 titles for a reasonable monthly fee, so I was eager to check it out on my iPhone.

While there were some benefits to the app's functionality, I came away feeling a bit unimpressed and unsure whether my $25 per month would be well spent elsewhere.


The app itself is free on the respective platforms' app stores, but if you're not already a subscriber, you can only listen to three-minute samples of each book. And (apparently) because of Apple's 30 percent cut on in-app purchases, it appears as if the company has chosen to avoid offering them altogether. As such, the app is almost entirely for the purpose of using it with a monthly subscription (unless all you like to do is listen to samples); you can't sign up for a subscription through the app. If you want to subscribe, you must do it through Audiobooks's website first and then log into the app with your credentials from the site.

Once you do log in, you're presented with a listing of featured books, "hot" picks, and newly added selections. For me, the app never did load anything next to Steve Jobs' biography in the featured section, but I can only assume this will change in the future.

Casually browsing through books was pleasant enough, though—tapping on the name of a book brings you to a page that shows you a description, ratings (which you can elect to read if you're feeling masochistic), and the option to begin playing it now or save for later.

The "Browse" option in the bottom row allows you to look through the selections by genre. I was a bit disappointed that there was no section for bestsellers or editors' picks. Those options would have helped to filter out some of the lesser-quality cruft, especially for the casual browser like me.

When I began actually searching for books, however, I discovered how limited the selection really is. I could not find one single book that I was interested in listening to (or even one that I was already reading on my Kindle—I searched for everything). It was difficult to even find a few that I wasn't embarrassed to use as examples for this writeup; when I searched for the same books on iTunes, almost all of them were available (albeit for downloaded prices of $9.99 to $19.95 apiece). So when it came to selection, I wasn't all that impressed with what I could access through the Audiobooks app, regardless of the "unlimited content" carrot.

Listening to and downloading books

Each book available through the Audiobooks app can be streamed on the spot, whether you're on WiFi or 3G. (If you want to use the app over 3G, you must first turn it on in your settings, as seen above.)

If you plan to come back to a book or three, it's wise to make use of the "Save book" button on each book's product page. This places the book in your "My Books" tab at the bottom, but don't be tricked into thinking that choosing this option is actually downloading your books for offline use. Saving a book just means you're bookmarking it for later, and you won't be able to listen to it offline until you make an active effort to make sure it's downloaded.

Even when you save a book, you must listen to a 3-minute preview before downloading it.

I say "active effort" because there appears to be no button or option to tell the app to download your book offline. Instead, you are required to listen to the three-minute preview first—even if you've saved the book—before even getting the option to download. This is annoying, because I'm often loading up on books right before I leave the house, and I may end up loading the app when I'm underground on the subway or in the air on the plane.

Downloads take a while, too.

That doesn't help me at all if the books aren't already downloaded, and I don't usually have the time (or memory capacity) to sit around and make sure to listen to the previews for my two books—and then allow for another 10 minutes to download—before I take off. I think usability could be greatly improved if the company adds a button to indicate that you plan to listen to certain books offline in order to streamline this process.


I don't always like to write reviews of apps when it's clear I can't say many positive things about them. I made an exception for this one because I like the idea of a dedicated audiobook app that provides unlimited content for a monthly fee. And, in fact, I don't completely dislike the new Audiobooks app—I think it has gotten off to a decent start.

As a full-fledged app that asks me to pay $25 every month, I don't think I can justify recommending it. The selection just isn't there for me, and the UI could use some work. If the selection were better, though, I would probably be more willing to overlook the usability deficits. But the two weaknesses combined translate to a bit of a flaccid experience. On the upside, these are all things that can be easily improved, so it's possible that Audiobooks can add more selections and update the app to address some of these issues.

To be fair, not everyone has the same taste in books as I do. If you're more of a casual listener who's just looking for something—anything—to keep you mentally busy, there are certainly upsides to using this app. In particular, there are many children's book selections (shout out to Berenstain Bears!) as well as many romantic and erotic novels. (Hey, it's worth mentioning because apparently it's a huge part of this app's offerings, according to my testing.)

There are also a good number of very popular books, like the aforementioned Jobs biography as well as Tina Fey's book Bossypants (highly recommended, by the way). Hunger Games and, yes, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter are available as well. So if those strike your fancy, the app could be worth checking out. Just be sure to make the most out of your $25, or else you may regret not purchasing those audiobooks through iTunes or Audible for less.

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