Audible: Audio Entertainment

Category

Description of App

Not enough time for all the books you want to enjoy? Download the app by Audible, an Amazon company, to listen to books on the go.

Immerse yourself in a great story anytime, anywhere, by downloading from a breathtaking range of 100,000+ titles to your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad—from best sellers to classics, and everything in-between.

Now you can turn on a good book even when you can’t pick one up—on your way to work, at the gym, while folding laundry, or any other time your eyes and hands are busy.

Features:
• Transfer books to your device over wi-fi
• Chapter navigation, bookmarking, sleep mode, variable narration speed, button-free mode
• Multitasking for background downloading and listening
• Earn badges and keep track of your listening habits
• NEW! Switch between reading and listening with Whispersync for Voice (compatible Kindle app or device required)
• Connect to Facebook and Twitter to let your friends know what you’re listening to
• Get insider information about author events and more with the Audible Newsfeed

Supports Audible.com, Audible.co.uk, and Audible.de

Listening with Audible is always time well spent. Download the free app now and discover a smarter way to use your smartphone.

Let us help you at www.audible.com/help or get in touch on Twitter @audible_com

Version

2.5.2

Free or Paid

Free

Apple Watch Support

No

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

8.3

Accessibility Comments

This is a very accessible app, if any developer wants to know how an app should work with voiceover, the Audible app provides a good example. All elements are accessible, buttons are clearly labeled, and hints are provided for the different play controls.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads all page elements.

Button Labeling

All buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

The app is fully accessible with VoiceOver and is easy to navigate and use.

Developer's Twitter Username

@audible_com

Recommendations

16 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Maria 6 months 2 weeks ago

Options

Comments

By James Mannion on Sunday, November 21, 2010 - 13:24

Ok, at first I thought that deleteing books from within the app was inaccessible, but it turns out it is not. The method where you can tap and hold and a delete buttons comes up is in fact inaccessible to voiceover, but the method of a remove button within the info screen when the book is playing or paused works fine. There is a tap and hold option for sighted users that if you tap and hold and slide left a delete button comes up and you have to tap that button. I have enough sight which I do not like anything I do to be dependent on when it comes to access, but being able to see that and experimenting with voiceover turned off revealed that. Voiceover does not seee the button and in fact a double tap and hold and slide left with voiceover on will not even get the button to appear at all. So to remove go into the info screen which is a button on the screen when you are in the now playing screen and then after double tapping the info button then you go to details by double tapping the second button along the bottom of the screen and the remove button will be there when you flick left. It is the entire length of the screen on the second row up from the bottom.

By David Goodwin on Friday, October 21, 2011 - 13:24

I don't use the app myself, but I notice that the release notes for the latest update (version 1.7.2) specifically mention "VoiceOver optimizations", which can only be a good thing.

By AnonyMouse on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 13:24

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
After using the 1.7.2. Everything is so much easier to use. The delete option as mentioned in Comment #1 listed above has been fixed. Even works great with existing audio books you have on your device. I like that feature. Using the interface has improved.

By AJ M on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - 13:24

Hi, What I want to know about is the website itself and what it offers. I know I could easily do a google search and figure this out, but people here on applevis are really good about sharing info. Ok, so from what I understand, you pay monthly to be able to download/stream books, but also pay for each individual book you want. Am I wrong? I've been considering signing up for audible.com the more I hear about it, but I just need to know for sure how it works. I have a bookshare account and the read2go app, the problem is that sometimes waiting for them to upload newer books can take a while. Thanks
Hello. The audible app works like this. You get credits every month, depending on if you spend I think it's fifteen dollars, it's one, twenty gets you two, and then if you pay annually, you get more. Ok so you have credits, now what? You spend these credits on a book, so the new Molly Harper book you really want but don't have enough green this month? You can spend your credit on it, and there's your book. You can purchase other books, but they will give you a discount on them. Your credits can be held over, so you can go on a binge like I do and get seven or eight books just by spending the credits. Most books are worth one crdit, once in a great whileit will be two. I meant the site, not the audible app. I'm sorry, coffee hasn't made it's way into my bloodstream yet :)

By AJ M on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - 13:24

I guess I'm gonna go ahead and try it out. Thanks for the info. I thought you had to pay annually to be a member, wasn't aware that you can just download the books.

By Siobhan on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - 13:24

In reply to by AJ M

Hi. I'm glad I could help. I know they offer a trial period where the price is half the normal price. You can also get people to gift you a membership, and also if you want a book and just don't want to pay forit people can gift books to others. The audible narrators are for the most part wonderful and the formats of the audio are very good. I use the enhanced, because I like how much better the quality it is. The enhanced is a little bigger, so you might want to keep that in mind when you download the books. They will play in iTunes on a Mac, windows, iPhone obviously, and other things like that. Enjoy the audible site.

By Larry Thacker Jr. on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - 13:24

In reply to by Siobhan

I have no experience with JAWS on the PC or anything on a Mac, but I can tell you that with either Window-Eyes or NVDA you will have trouble with the full version of the Audible site once you have established an account. I have tried it in both Firefox and Internet Explorer. Firefox definitely presents a problem and I don't recall it being any better in IE that I would switch to use it instead. The problem I've had is that search results don't get read. You can see the options for modifying the search at the top of the table but there is no content where the results should be. Oddly this only occurs if you are logged in. If you do the searches as a guest they are fine. I haven't used the mobile site on my iPhone much but I assume the functionality that is available that way will work.
Hi if the full audible site is giving you trouble, try m.audible.com, that's the mobile site. Also, you can't actually purchase books from within the audible app itself, but you can play your purchased books afterwords. You'll need to double-tap the refresh button in the library section of the app to see your latest purchases. I should also add that when you download books that they are *not* in mp3 format. Audible has chosen to copy-protect them which means you have to have a device that'll play audible books. So keep this in mind. I have the gold member subscription, which allows me to get 1 credit per month, and discounts on any additional books i want to buy afterwords. The selection is huge! I hope this helps.

By AnonyMouse on Thursday, February 21, 2013 - 13:24

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

This is absolutely beautiful! Marvelous update and they have made this so much simplier to use. From my observation every area appears to be very accessible. For having an entire overhaul of the interface I am extremely impressed by the developers in making sure that it was redone in making sure it was fully accessible.

 

What's New in Version 2.0

We've optimized the Audible app for the iPad, and delivered a beautiful new design for the iPhone.

In addition to the new look and feel, this release improves your listening experience with:

• Improved Navigation: easier to user while on the go
• Simplified start up: sign-in with your Amazon account
• New Library filter: hide your finished titles from view
• Downloads on the go: download up to three hours of audio over 3G/4G
• Expanded compatibility: works with all iPad models

 

Update Requires: iOS v 5.0 or higher, iPhone 3GS or later, iPod Touch (3rd generation) or later.

By LadyMunch on Thursday, February 21, 2013 - 13:24

Hi, I just got this update and its good so far. One thing though, i can't see button free mode anymore. Can anyone help? Thanks!
The option you're asking about was never accessible, as far as I know. They appear to have removed it.

By Paul Martin on Thursday, February 21, 2013 - 13:24

In reply to by AnonyMouse

This new Custom Actions feature in Voiceover? Not seen it used in many places yet still. I wonder, does Audible in it's new incarnation make any use of it at all?

By LadyMunch on Thursday, February 21, 2013 - 13:24

In reply to by Zack

It worked before. It was just a regular button before. I checked the manual I found in settings and its now a swipe up from the bottom of the play screen but iI can't work it. I used to use this mode qall the time for quick access to controls without VO jabbering at me while listening. Anyone any ideas?

By Zack on Thursday, March 21, 2013 - 13:24

In reply to by LadyMunch

If you have Voiceover set to be turned on/off with the triple click home feature, it's simple to turn VO off, and then swipe up from the bottom of the screen with one finger to activate button-free mode.

By Zack on Thursday, March 21, 2013 - 13:24

In reply to by Zack

The timeline scrubber doesn't seem to be accessible with VO in version 2.0. Anybody else having this problem? As it is, I can just use button-free mode but still think the bug is probably worth reporting.

By Kevan on Thursday, March 21, 2013 - 13:24

How do you skip back and forwards through books while listening to them? I can't seem to get the slider to work?

By AnonyMouse on Friday, June 21, 2013 - 13:24

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
What's New in Version 2.0.4

Updated in this version:
- Chapter forward and chapter back buttons added: Tap on the play bar to activate buttons that will allow you to navigate to the next and previous chapters.
- News notifications: Our news section now alerts you when there are new items in your feed.
- BMW integration: Drivers of BMWs that support "BMW Apps" can access Audible directly from their vehicle (iPhone only).
- MINI integration: Drivers of MINIs that are "MINI Connected" can access Audible directly from their vehicle (iPhone only).

Minor Fixes
Updates to sleep timer, accessibility, iTunes audio playback, Whispersync, and audio content downloads.

By Tristan on Monday, October 21, 2013 - 13:24

What's New in Version 2.0.8 - Bug and crash fixes.

By dvdmth on Friday, February 21, 2014 - 13:24

In reply to by Tristan

There is one little annoyance I have with the Audible app on my iPad AIR. The app features something called badges which denote some characteristic of how the user is using the app (for example, the High Noon badge indicates that a certain of hours were listened to during lunch hours). If VoiceOver speech is on and a badge is earned, VoiceOver will announce the earned badge over top of the audio being listened to. This can be distracting especially if the audiobook is at a critical part of the story. I personally don't care about these status symbols and would like to disable the feature altogether. At least I can keep VoiceOver from interrupting me by turning speech off, though I have to remember to turn speech back on before doing anything else.

By Matthew Bullis on Monday, April 21, 2014 - 13:24

Hello, a new user to the Audible app after years as a pc and portable player user. If I search for Francis in my library, it pulls up all the books I've bought by Dick Francis, which is neat. However, I can't get out of those search results. If a sighted user touches the search bar, VoiceOver just clicks like it's an empty area of the screen. Is there any solution? Also, they don't appear to have associated the Back button with the two-finger scrub gesture.
I was able to reproduce this bug on my iPad Air. The best way I could find to work around it is to close the app from the App Switcher and then relaunch it. I was able to get out of the results without doing this, but it's tricky, and I'm not sure I could tell you exactly what I did. I will note that this bug doesn't always happen for me when I was testing it just now. I was sometimes able to interact with the search bar just fine, and when that was the case, the scrub gesture actually worked to get out of the results. However, that part of the screen is not always recognized by VoiceOver, in which case there really isn't any good way to go back.

By dvdmth on Monday, April 21, 2014 - 13:24

I just updated to version 2.0.12 of Audible, and the app now crashes every time I try to open it. Anyone else have this problem? It's a shame because this version has some new features I would be very much interested in using, if I can ever get it to work.

By dvdmth on Monday, April 21, 2014 - 13:24

I was able to get the new version to work by deleting and reinstalling it. I should have tried that before posting here. Must have been a bad download.

By AnonyMouse on Monday, April 21, 2014 - 13:24

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

What's New in Version 2.0.13

• Long audiobooks are now downloaded as single-part files. However if you prefer the old multi-part way, you can change it back in “Settings.”
• The Lock Screen/Control Center controls can now skip 30 seconds forward/back instead of skipping full chapters. You can adjust this in “Settings.”
• When downloading parts in a multi-part book or a periodical/subscription, you can now see download progress in the main library.
• We added play/pause and 30 second back controls to “Add Note” feature within bookmarks. This is great if you want to transcribe audio in your note.
• The “iTunes” section, which is for audiobooks stored via the iTunes app, is now hidden if you don’t use this feature.

By dvdmth on Sunday, September 21, 2014 - 13:24

Audible was just updated to version 2.1 on my iPad. The Now Playing screen is arranged a little differently, but it remains fully accessible. If anything, the labels are clearer now.

The playback controls are a little different. You have three basic buttons, a pause button, a jump back button, and a jump forward button. By default, the back and forward buttons move a certain number of seconds, which is configured in the app settings. However, if you double-tap on the cover art image, the controls change to jump by chapter. You can double-tap the cover art again to go back to jumping by seconds.

By AnonyMouse on Sunday, September 21, 2014 - 13:24

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Thanks to dvdmth for the heads up!

What's New in Version 2.1

• New App Design! App now has a brighter, more modern layout.
• The Player now features a 30-second forward button.
• Improved Search - Get more info on your next audiobook.
• Brand new Discover tab - Listen to audiobook samples and save titles for later.

By dvdmth on Sunday, September 21, 2014 - 13:24

I updated to version 2.2.1, which was released for iOS 8. I discovered that this version has a nasty VoiceOver bug which makes it difficult, but not impossible, to delete audiobooks from my iPad. The app had multiple updates recently, so it's possible the bug was introduced in a prior version, but I first noticed the bug in version 2.2.1. This is on an iPad, so the situation might be different on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

In the past, one can easily remove titles from the device by navigating to the title in question, swiping up to select Remove, then double-tapping. That method no longer works. To make things more confusing, there is now a Delete button announced by VoiceOver next to each title. Although visually to the right of each title on screen, VoiceOver announces the button before the book title when flicking through the list. Although seen by VoiceOver, the Delete buttons are not actually on screen, and double-tapping on simply causes the audiobook to start playing.

So, for a while, I though there wasn't a way to remove titles with VoiceOver. However, with some experimentation, I was able to figure out how to delete audiobooks successfully. I found two ways to do it, and I will list both. They mimic the procedure a sighted user would use, as I can confirm with my limited vision.

First method:
1. Navigate to the title you wish to delete. Ignore the Delete button seen by VoiceOver for the present.
2. While focused on the title, double-tap and hold.
3. When you hear the three rising tones, quickly swipe to the left. VoiceOver won't say anything, but this causes the Delete button to appear next to the audiobook.
4. Now flick left to the Delete button and double-tap it. You should now get the alert asking if you are sure you want to remove the item from your device.

Second method:
1. Near the top of the screen, directly above the list of audiobooks, there is a row of four buttons. The third button in this row is called Delete. Double-tap this button to enter a special edit mode.
2. Navigate to the title you wish to remove. You should find a button called Edit Mode between the title and author, although it appears visually to the left of the audiobook information on screen.
3. Double-tap the edit mode button. This causes the Delete button to appear. It also causes the VoiceOver focus to jump to a seemingly arbitrary spot on screen, at least on my iPad running iOS 8.
4. Navigate back to the title you're trying to remove, then flick left to the Delete button.
5. Double-tap to get the confirmation alert.
6. Optionally, go back to the Delete button at the top of the screen and double-tap it again. This will exit the edit mode and remove the extra buttons added by that mode. This Delete button is actually a mode toggle, though VoiceOver does not make it clear.

Obviously, the second method is more convoluted, but it can be done without the double-tap and hold gesture, making it possible to remove titles with a Bluetooth keyboard instead of the touch screen.

I will contact Audible about this issue. Hopefully they'll fix it in a later version so that titles can be deleted the normal way with VoiceOver.

I just had to call Audible about a title that is screwed up at the end and the tech support guy wanted me to delete the book and redownload it. I couldn't, because I didn't know about this fix, and he left me hanging. I kept saying are you there are you there, nothing. I hung up and came here. redownloading the book now. I tell ya, the customer service people at Audible are great. The tech support guys? Not so much. Thank you so much for finding a fix and posting it! I used the first method.

By Kelly on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - 13:24

What's New in Version 2.2.2

* Night Mode! Toggle between bright and night modes from the player menu.
* Bug fixes and app improvements.

By Deb on Friday, November 21, 2014 - 13:24

Thanks so much for posting these two methods for deleting. I noticed this in a previous update and I've been struggling with it for weeks! I was just about to call Audible when I found your post.

By dvdmth on Friday, November 21, 2014 - 13:24

I just updated to version 2.3 of this app on my iPad. The release notes mention improved accessibility, including deleting titles from the device.

Here is how a title is removed in the new version:

1. Press the Delete button near the top of the screen.
2. Navigate through the list of audiobooks until you find the item you want to remove.
3. Right after the book title, you will find a button labeled Remove. Double-tap this button.
4. You now get the familiar dialog asking if you are sure you want to remove the audiobook.
5. When finished, press the Delete button again at the top of the screen to finish deletion mode. The button is essentially a toggle switch which enters and exits deletion mode when tapped.

It would be nice if the app supported the more standard method of swiping up or down to select the delete command, like you used to be able to do in older versions of the app, but this method works well enough and is fairly straightforward. At least we no longer have a bunch of phantom Delete buttons throughout the list of audiobooks.

By AnonyMouse on Sunday, December 21, 2014 - 13:24

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

What's New in Version 2.3.1

• Fixed a crash loop in iOS6.
• From v2.3: Your “Me” section now syncs to the cloud! If you reinstall your app, you won’t lose your stats and badges; If you have multiple devices under
the same account, the stats and badges will combine.
• Improvements to Accessibility: Delete from library and switching to chapter forward/back.

By dvdmth on Thursday, May 21, 2015 - 13:24

A bug was introduced in version 2.5 and continues in the just released version 2.5.1. At least on my iPad Air, it is now impossible to delete audiobooks with VoiceOver enabled. I must turn VoiceOver off and perform the deletion the normal sighted way, which is a huge pain.

The delete button at the top of the screen still works, and activating it brings up the icons to the left of each audiobook in the list, but VoiceOver is unaware of these icons and will not announce or interact with them.

The process I must now do to delete audiobooks is as follows:

1. Have the triple-click shortcut set to VoiceOver, if it isn't already.
2. In Audible, activate the Delete button above the list of titles.
3. Find the audiobook I wish to delete in the list by touch, then move my finger directly to the left, all the way to the edge of the screen.
4. Triple-click the home button with my other hand, then tap the screen at the point where my finger is positioned, hoping to have the right spot.
5. Repeat the process, but this time do a tap at the far right of the screen. This is because tapping the delete button brings up a confirmation button at the opposite side of the screen, which must also be tapped.

I have partial sight and can figure this out with the Zoom function. I have no idea how I'd be able to manage this successfully if I couldn't see what the heck I was doing.

By KE7ZUM on Thursday, May 21, 2015 - 13:24

There is a forum thread on applevis regarding this. They are aware of the issue but have not fixed it yet. I'm surprised this is not a rank one high importance bug. It should be in my book.

By AnonyMouse on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

What's New in Version 2.5.2

We’ve resolved issues experienced by a small portion of our customers who upgraded to version 2.5. These fixes include:
• App no longer crashes during book download and playback in the background.
• All bookmarks (even those missing after delete/reinstall) restored
• Voiceover bug: Ability to delete books from device restored
• Black screen upon app launch eliminated

By Lindham on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

...who's Audible app keeps refreshing with VO every 10 seconds. Whenever I try to navigate to a title I want to listen to, it takes me to somewhere in the middle of my library. Then, I essentially have to play beat the clock to find the book I want, and usually lose before it refreshes again, taking me right back to either the same mid-point, or the Cloud / Device tab. I saw that 2.5 was having issues, and thought upgrading to 2.5.2 would fix this, but it seems to have gotten worse.

Admittedly, I'm still on a 4s running 7. whatever, because I heard that IOS8's accessibility bugs make it not worth the software update if you still have a 4s. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, although I will probably grumble just a bit if my only solution is to get a new phone to work with 8.0 so that one of my apps will behave. lol

Thanks lots,
L

By Toonhead on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

Hi, in an un-related thing somewhat, I have a 4s here and we upgraded it to iOS 8.3 and it seems to work fine in most cases. I haven't tried the audible app on it, but a whole lot of the bugs in earlier versions of iOS 8 have been squashed with the release of 8.3. so, if you feel like being a bit brave, try upgrading your iOS to 8.3 and see if you still have the same issues.

It does not delete books and it keep refreshing. I thought they fixed this with the new update from yesterday but no luck.

By Toonhead on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

For you guys who are having the app refreshing constantly, are you using iOS 8.3? I'm using that and have never seen that behavior. Might be time to jump to iOS 8.3 if you aren't already.

By Ro on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

Wow, this is awful. finally updated Audible on my iPhone 5S with 8.3 since I thought it was all fixed. Had to turn VO sounds off because it kept blipping while I was listening to a book. I definitely won't be updating on my iPad. It also seems super cluttered to me. I can delete books. Seems like all the bugs are not consistent. Crazy.

By Lindham on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

Hey all,

Thanks for the feedback.

As of now, my Audible app's been behaving weirdly all week. If it isn't refreshing constantly, it's going through periods of refusing to let me click on specific titles. It either does nothing, or bounces me back to some random mid-point in the library. And today, the app simply refuses to open. If I can't figure out a solution, I'll likely brave the update to 8.3 just to see what happens.

By Holger Fiallo on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

Does not work even with iOS 8.3. I still can not delete and refreshes. I can not delete a book that I finish reading and is taking space in my iPhone. Where do I go to let them have a peace of my little mind?

By Toonhead on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

I guess I must be incredibly lucky, because I'm not experiencing any of these behaviors. I will say that it no longer confirms when you delete a book, it just does it. At first that confused me a bit but when I went back and looked at my library, I noticed the book was gone. I'venot noticed any focus issues with this version, although the last 2 updates were full of them. I sometimes had to close and re-open the app just so I could see the contents of my library. So...I'm not trying to say that you guys aren't having these issues, it's just that I'm not noticing them here. Have you guys thought about deleting, and re-installing the app? I'm sure some of you guys have, but maybe that might help? I know I did and I'm not experiencing any of this stuff.

By Darren12 on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

Holger Fiallo.
I hope I can help. I've personally not experienced an inability to remove books, but what I can say is that the device will make the refreshing sound even after your book has been deleted. I've found that if you double tap the delete button after deleting the book, so hitting delete once to delete the book, and then again once the book has been removed, this refreshing sound will stop. I am presuming the delete button acts like a toggle, providing the ability to remove multiple books if the user wants to. Once the first delete button is activated and then deactivated this removes the appearance of the delete option underneath your titles. I hope this makes sense.

By Holger Fiallo on Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 13:24

In reply to by Darren12

I will give it a check. Hope it will work. Thanks.

By Ro on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 13:24

I'm getting so sick of this app. I'm too frustrated to go get the version number but I updated it this morning. The delete feature no longer seems to work. I reinstalled the app. That was one way to get rid of books. Downloaded a short book to test, cannot delete it. Thought I'd check with yawl since in the past, people have come up with crazy swiping tricks.

How can Audible disregard the freaking blind all the freaking time? I'm so frustrated.

By dvdmth on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 13:24

In the latest Audible app, first tap the Delete button at the top of the screen, then look for delete buttons next to each audiobook. If you don't see any delete buttons, switch between the cloud and device tabs, then look again. You may have to do this a couple of times before they are there, but they should show up after a few tries.

I just did this in the latest version of Audible, which I downloaded yesterday. I agree that this needs to be fixed, but it's not as bad as it once was.

By Ro on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 13:24

That's how it's been in the last several versions. But once I activate the delete buttons, they show up, but do nothing when double tapped. Maybe this is just another inconsistent breakage.

By KE7ZUM on Monday, September 21, 2015 - 13:24

Here is their contact info.

http://www.audible.com/mt/contact-us

Although I have to warn you all, I contacted them about a similar issue last year re the iOs app and they never responded. I don't even think this issue was fixed, and it might have been this one. I would try again, then give up on audible. If they are unwilling and unable to fix the issue money talks, and they are not getting mine. Audio books, another wonderful and accessible app will get my money. Audible just lost a customer.