Imagine if you had a bookcase in your house full of books that you purchased with your hard-earned money, and every 4-8 years you had to pay a multibillion-dollar company a minimum of $350 to continue to have access to the books you purchased in your own library.
That’s exactly how Apple’s ebook system works. Apple’s ebooks are only accessible on Apple devices, so have own an Apple product to access them. There isn’t an iBooks app for Windows or Android. You can’t download Apple ebooks to read on non-Apple devices. Apple’s iBooks are locked into the Apple platform, and unlike Kindle and Kobo ebooks, there’s no way to remove the DRM from them.
Amazon is the most criticized company when it comes to ebooks, especially in recent months as they continue to make their ebooks more secure. But the fact is Kindle ebooks can be read on a multitude of devices across a number of platforms for free.
Amazon has Kindle apps for Android and iOS, and desktop apps for Windows and Mac computers. They even have a cloud reader so you can read Kindle ebooks on just about any device that has a web browser.
Yes, Amazon is making it harder to remove the DRM from Kindle ebooks, but at least you don’t have to own an Amazon product to access them. Can you imagine people’s outrage if Amazon required everybody to buy a Kindle to read Kindle ebooks?
The craziest part about Apple’s system is the fact that there are people willing to accept their ridiculous terms. Yet you rarely hear people complaining about the way Apple handles ebooks.
The cheapest iPad model currently costs $350, and the cheapest iPhone is $600. Mac computers are even more expensive, and the prices of Apple’s devices will most likely keep going up. The average lifespan of an iPad and iPhone is somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-8 years. So you’ll have to continue spending money on Apple’s products indefinitely in order to retain access to the ebooks you purchased while using them. How are people okay with this? That kind of system shouldn’t even be legal.
“How are people okay with this?”
I’m perfectly fine with this arrangement. It is abundantly clear what you are getting into when you buy ebooks from Apple. If you don’t like their terms, buy elsewhere. I doubt there is much, if anything, which can’t be obtained from another seller.
“That kind of system shouldn’t even be legal.”
I am weary of people demanding laws, just because they don’t like the way a company does business. If you don’t like Apple’s terms, then shop elsewhere. Nothing Apple sells is a necessity.
“It is abundantly clear what you are getting into when you buy ebooks from Apple.”
Is it though? I mean, does Apple explicitly state that you’re only paying for the privilege of accessing your digital media exclusively on Apple hardware?
Don’t have a dog in this fight but did learn a lesson years ago–no Apple didn’t make it “abundantly clear”–when I tried to Bluetooth music (that I paid Apple for) between devices. Nope, impossible. Jobs deliberately hobbled Apple devices to prevent such transfer. See ya later Apple.
I know I have never bought an Apple iBook because you can’t remove the DRM. And the thing is I can read my books bought elsewhere on an Apple device if I want to.
“Yet you rarely hear people complaining about the way Apple handles ebooks.”
I rarely meet people who actually buy books from Apple, if no one buys them then no one will complain, right? 😀
Everything that you’ve said is correct, but it’s also important that their (Apple) Books app is poorly designed, buggy, and for many people it’s simply unusable. It’s something that’s accepted as a sad fact even among the most hardcore Apple fans.
I have an old iPad that I still use daily, Kobo and Kindle apps work just fine on it but Apple Books crashes 8 times out of 10 even though it has a grand total of 3 books in it. Why on Earth would I buy books from them?
I used Apple devices for about 10 years, only because they were the only way to have beneficial connectivity to my hearing aids. But as few years ago Google’s Android became better at connectivity than Apple so I have switched back to my favorite platform. To be honest Apple is over priced. It locks down what devices you have to have. Android is open source which I prefer but that also means that not all devices work the same, so you have to be more educated on what works and doesn’t so it is a decision of what you can afford and what you want. I am a Amazon Unlimited person and have been since Kindles/Kindle app was first available. I never used Apple ebooks and neither do I Google ebooks.
I do buy a few Amazon ebooks that I want to use for reference, but for the most part I read a book and return them. I read a lot of series, I have an excellent ability to pick up from where the series left off even a year ot more later. I am 77 years old but still have my ability of an excellent memory.
You note that Kindle ebooks are available for free. But don’t you have to retain your Amazon account for this to be true? Or is there a separate, free, Kindle-only Amazon account?
Apple products fit best with non-technical people who aren’t really aware of what’s going on in the background. They accept the terms of use because they don’t fully understand what they’re actually consenting to. And all the big tech companies, including apple, are taking advantage of that.
I haven’t used any apple products since the first iphone, because they offer fewer features for more money, whatever product or service we are talking about.
It’s actually the other way around. They offer way more features for my money. My earphones/headphones are connected to all my devices at once without the need to switch anything manually unlike with Android where headphones can be connected to two devices tops. When I listen to music on my phone and I want to continue on home speakers I just move my phone near them and the other way around when I’m leaving from home. I unlock my Apple Watch with my phone, my Mac with Apple Watch etc. I ctrl+c on one device and ctrl+v on another. I start writing message on phone and finish it on Mac. I put iPad next to Mac and it works as second screen without turning anything on. When I need to write something on Apple TV, keyboard appears on my phone automatically. And there are hundreds other things like that. Without setting anything up. Most of these things are non existent with their competition or require weeks of setting them up. I’m a tech enthusiast and that is why I use Apple. I just want the best in tech with the most capability. I guess you’re one of those people who only tried iPhone and no other product with it. They always say stuff like what you said. It comes from lack of knowledge.
What works for you won’t work for me. I mostly use open source software which is impossible on an apple device. I prefer privacy, which is non-existent on an apple device. I can configure my stuff the way I want without depending on any locked-in ecosystem which will never be allowed on an apple device.
Although I understand if you are satisfied in your comfortable bubble and you just cannot see out from it.
You can use plethora of open source software on Apple. Apple is synonymum of privacy unlike for example Android for which you use by giving up all your private data. I can configure anything I can on my Apple devices, I never hit any limit when it comes to that. I tried multiple other devices. For the last two years I tried Garmin Epix 2 instead of Apple Watch, Sonos Era 100, Google Nest Home and Amazon Echo instead of HomePod or Xiaomi Mi Box instead of Apple TV. All of these were god awful. I can very much see outside of my bubble. As a developer and tech enthusiast I can just appreciate how advanced Apple devices are compared to their competition.
By the way, I never meant to hurt anyone, I was talking about non-technical people, who make up the majority of users, but they’re not the ones to blame. It’s apple who’s to blame for going insane with their pricing and with their own limitations. A good example of that is their VR headset, which eventually failed.
Yeah I get it when you buy an iphone it isn’t that pricey, but when you invest into the whole ecosystem that will cost you a lot on the long term.
Apple and privacy are two differents things. They offer security, that’s for sure. But no privacy, you cannot control what they do with all of your data.
I want to believe that it bothers you but an apple device lasts at least 8 years… So, the cost is much lower than the one you announce with fear…
In addition, digitizing books automatically results in a regular update of your equipment to continue reading your purchases.
As such, I believe that the gradual but inexorable closure of Amazon’s books, which you mention in your recent news, leads to the same observation as for Apple.
So, the solution is simple: never buy a book with DRM, so you won’t be locked in a technological garden (Android, Amazon, Apple…) and you can lend it like a good old paper book 🙂
Best regards
I have exactly zero problem with it. I have been using Apple products for many years and majority of my electronics is from them with no plans of change. Apple Books are WAY cheaper in my country than any other platform to buy books in English. I have almost all Stephen King’s books on it and most were $2. I do wish there were Apple Books for Android, so that I could read them on ereader, but I have zero problem with them being this locked up. I knew exactly what I was going for when I started buying books from them. Actually most of my books in English are bought via Apple.
How is this any worse than, say, Amazon selling you a 7″ e-ink screen, but because they insist on their minimum margins being overly large, only allowing you to use 6″ of that screen?
I’ve a Pocketbook Era with a 7″ screen, and I can use 6.5″ of it. It makes a difference.
Yet, many people are perfectly happy with this exact scenario. Heck, people were perfectly happy to buy Kindles during the era where you didn’t even get a choice in how your ebook text was aligned. And folks bought Kindles like crazy even back when library loans were NOT offered via Kindle. Today, they are still buying Kindle devices even with all the news about how Amazon is locking their ebooks down further and further. It’s their choice. Convenience is fine for most.
Not everyone re-reads books anyway. So if a person doesn’t reread, what does it matter in 10 years that their paid for Apple ebook was read only once?
I have a first edition, complete with dust jacket, copy of “Game of Thrones” … by virtue of someone buying the hardcover, reading it gently ONCE, and then donating it to their library’s book sale, where I picked it up for $1.00. It’s less unusual than you think. Most read a book and move on to a new book.
The way I see it, is if folks LIKE their walled gardens, then let them live in them. One day, it might bite them, but until then, if they are happy, so what? Not all marriages work out long term either.
Apple is not holding a gun to people’s heads to make them buy Apple ebooks. It’s not like they’ve said the ONLY way to read ebooks on their device is if you buy from them. Nope, Kindle app works, Kobo app works, various other e-reading apps work. People have choices, even in the Apple world.
I’ve never yet purchased an Apple ebook. It’s not mandatory. Just like it’s not mandatory that I purchase from Amazon, or Kobo. I choose. Mostly, I read through my library.
I guess it doesn’t matter if you want to be in the Apple ecosystem by consistently buying their products. I know several dedicated Apple fans who refuse to switch to PC or Android. They don’t buy Apple ebooks because they aren’t recreational readers.