audio book player app for iOS

By Louis, 28 September, 2013

Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Hello, Is there an app that will treat files as if they were audio books meaning users are able to set bookmarks, control playback speed, etc? I'm looking for something that behaves similarly to the Audible app. Obviously the Audible app can only play Audible content and not mp3 or other file types. Many Thanks, Louis

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Comments

By yorkshire-drew on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - 16:47

In addition to playing Audible books, the iOS Audible app can play audiobooks that have been bought from iTunes. It can also play any file in the m4b format that is loaded on your device. Within the app there are five buttons along the top. Settings, Cloud, Device, iTunes, and Delete. It's the iTunes button you need to tap to access the above-mentioned content. In many ways I prefer the Audible app to the Music app because there's an option to disable the screen from locking. Okay, this might use a bit more battery but I've always got full control over stop and play etc. There's also more functionality to rewind or fast forward.

By Jeff on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - 16:47

As mentioned, the Audible app can be used for audiobooks other than just Audible purchases. In fact, it can be used to play books in mp3 format. The built-in music player can also play audiobooks. There are 2 other apps that are designed specifically for playing audiobooks: Bookmark and the Ambling Book Player. Both of these are paid apps. The main advantage of the Ambling Book Player is that it will combine all files for a given book into a single library entry and play it continuously, similar to how the dedicated book players (such as the VR Stream) work. It will also report the remaining time for the entire book rather than for just the current file. All of these apps expect to have the audiobook imported into iTunes.

By Blind I Am on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - 16:47

Another option that I would throw into the mix is SpeedUp Player Pro. Bookmark had previously been my audiobook player of choice - and still is a good accessible choice - but one thing that always mildly irritated me was having to leave the app to change playback speed. Not only can you do this within SpeedUp Player Pro, but it also has more playback speed options. The interface takes a little bit more learning than Bookmark, but the app does offer more features.

Oh wow! I did not know that the audable book player played other things. Thanks for that. I'll stick with the music app any time, but it's good to know there are other things out ther ethat do the job, and do it well.

One notable limitation for using the Audible app is that you do not have access to the playback speed controls when you are playing audiobooks not purchased through Audible.