Newfangled gadgets continue to amaze with their functionality and the benefits they bring. Apple also pleases its fans. But the developers of the first Apple technology did not take into account the fact that those who like to while away their free time with literary works were forced to purchase additional e-books or tablets. How to read books on iPhone now, so that it is both comfortable for the eyes and functional? It's very simple - install one of the applications listed in the top 5 and enjoy the works of your favorite authors without restrictions.
What book formats does iPhone support?
The first question that interests novice users who want to start reading on an Apple smartphone is in what format they need to be downloaded. The answer depends on which application you use.
Option 1: Standard Books application
By default, the iPhone has the standard Books app installed (formerly iBooks). For most users this will be sufficient.
However, this application supports only two e-book extensions - ePub and PDF. ePub is a format implemented by Apple. Fortunately, in most electronic libraries the user can immediately download the ePub file of interest. Moreover, you can download the work either to your computer, then transfer it to your device using iTunes, or directly through the iPhone itself.
In the same case, if the book you need was not found in ePub format, you can almost certainly say that it is available in FB2, which means you have two options: convert the file to ePub or use a third-party program for reading works.
Option 2: Third Party Apps
Largely due to the meager number of supported formats in the standard reader, users open the App Store to find a more functional solution. As a rule, third-party programs for reading books can boast a much wider list of supported formats, among which you can usually find FB2, mobi, txt, ePub and many others. In most cases, to find out which extensions a particular reader supports, you just need to look at its full description in the App Store.
We hope this article helped you answer the question of what format of e-books you should download to your iPhone. If you have any questions on the topic, voice them below in the comments.
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Dictation
If right now you want to listen rather than read, and your document does not have an audio version, turn on Apple Dictation and a computer voice will read out all the information. Of course, it is better not to subject fiction to such “torture,” but with educational materials, legal documents, etc. It is even possible to do this with information.
To enable dictation, select the desired piece of text and select the appropriate option in the menu that appears.
If the Speak option is not among the possible options, you must enable the Speak option under Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content.
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What format of books on iPhone and iPad
Nowadays, it is not necessary to buy a special device for reading e-books. Our iPhone and iPad allow you to open any books and documents, doing it in the most convenient way. The only difficulty users may have is choosing the correct book or document format.
The standard app for reading books on iPhone and iPad, iBooks, supports only two formats: ePub and PDF. Apple developers do not implement support for more formats for one simple reason - books, magazines and documents in already supported formats are widely distributed on the Internet and there is not enough of them.
In addition, there are many services on the Internet that allow you to convert one e-book format to another. For example, in order to make a book in ePub format from a book in FB2 format, which is also one of the most popular, you just need to go to this site and “feed” the desired book to it.
As for documents, to be able to open them through the iBooks application, you can use another online converter - smallpdf.com. With it, you can convert any type of document, including tables, to PDF. Both offered services are free.
How to download files for iBooks?
To download new books for iBooks via iTunes you need to take a couple of simple steps:
- go to iTunes on your computer, go to the “Books” section;
- after going to the library, you need to drag the selected files to the iTunes tab. If this does not happen automatically, then use the manual method;
- then synchronize the gadget with your PC, select iTunes;
- go to the “Books” section and click “File Synchronization”;
- select all the books or just the ones you need by highlighting them in the field;
- After transferring, click on “Done” so that the files can be read on your phone;
What are the e-book formats?
ePub is the recommended format for electronic books. The layout is floating, i.e. adapts to the reader's screen size. Supported by almost all mobile devices, tablets and readers.
mobi is a format for reading books on Kindle devices.
PDF is a format with a fixed layout, the pages correspond to a printed book. Suitable for reading on a computer and on devices with large screens.
PDF (spread or spread) is a format with a fixed layout, written in spreads (some creative and children's books that have many illustrations on spreads do this). For example:
fb2 - format with floating layout, suitable for readers; fb2 will also be reproduced on other devices.
Which e-book format is better to choose and in which application is it better to read?
When choosing a reading app, keep in mind that it's not just about how beautifully it turns pages and how many colors it has for bookmarks, but also how the app interprets files. Some applications, for example, ignore some tags and symbols (Stanza and Tucan applications do not understand the “non-breaking space” symbol, because of this the reader receives a book with stuck together prepositions).
For devices using electronic ink (they are also readers, they are also electronic books; examples of devices: PocketBook, Bookeen Cybook, Digma and others) ePub and fb2 (for older models) are suitable.
The main electronic format is ePub. Among floating layout formats, it conveys the most formatting elements.
Mobi is a native format for Kindle.
Fb2 is a format that simplifies a lot, therefore it is suitable for devices with limited capabilities for displaying books (some devices use electronic ink).
If you like fixed layout, read PDF anywhere.
- If you have an iOS device, then it is better to read in ePub format in the native iBooks application (available on all devices, synchronized).
- Android devices - ePub in Google Play Books or Mantano Reader apps.
- Windows Phone devices - ePub, for example, in the Bookviser Reader application.
But you can read it on an iPhone in another format, FB2 (Fiction Book). This is a specialized format for viewing books. iBooks is not suitable for this format alone. You will need "Aychitalka".
Aychitalka
But you can read it on an iPhone in another format, FB2 (Fiction Book). This is a specialized format for viewing books. iBooks is not suitable for this format alone. You will need "Aychitalka".
You can upload no more than 100 of your books and each book should not exceed 5 MB , these are the terms of use.
You can download the Aychitalka application in the App Store for free. The application only works with books in FB2 format.
All books loaded into the reader’s memory, regardless of the source, are automatically sorted and organized on a beautifully designed virtual bookshelf.
In addition to the ability to download books from external sources, the app also includes a digital store with paid and free content. This store hosts promotions during which you can download even global bestsellers for free.
Source
How to read books on iPhone and iPad comfortably
Five convenient applications in which you can read texts from any source.
- Supported formats: FB2, EPUB, MOBI, DOC, DOCX, TXT, ZIP.
If you like the minimalism of the standard iBooks reader, but don't like fixed indents in texts and limited format support, you can try eBoox. This program is just as airy and easy to use, but it also reads FB2, MOBI and other popular file types not available in iBooks. In addition, eBoox gives you more control over the visual side of the text: adjust the indentation to suit your needs.
The only thing eBoox may be missing is synchronization of reading positions, bookmarks and other metadata between devices. The program is free.
Use navigation
Starting with iOS 12, Books has a new navigation menu. To access it, simply tap anywhere on the screen while reading. Immediately after this, you will see five icons at the top.
The one on the far left – in the form of an arrow – will take you back to the library. The icon following it is responsible for displaying the table of contents of the book you are reading, bookmarks and notes. The other three buttons give access to increasing and decreasing fonts, searching and creating bookmarks, respectively.
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Bookmate
- Supported formats: FB2, EPUB.
The Bookmate application is a convenient reader with basic text display settings. You can adjust the side padding, font size and type, line spacing, and background color. Moreover, Bookmate is also a social service with book recommendations and a library with thousands of free books. A very interesting combination.
Despite having an internal book store, Bookmate allows you to upload your own texts for free. The service automatically synchronizes data between different devices and platforms. As for file compatibility, the reader is limited to only the most popular formats.
Download via Safari
Sometimes you can skip the lengthy iTunes download by just using Safari. But then you need to find the required file on the Internet in advance. This is done easily:
- go to Safari and any library on the Internet with the required formats;
- select the desired book;
- follow the link to download files;
- then go to the “Open file in iBooks” section;
Synchronization is carried out automatically, so you can read the work immediately after displaying it on the library shelf.
PocketBook Reader
- Supported formats: EPUB, FB2, PDF, DJVU, TXT, FB2.ZIP, CHM, HTML (basic), CBZ, CBR, СBT, RTF.
The PocketBook reader cannot be called minimalistic, but it is unlikely to confuse you with a large number of settings and functions. In addition to the typical options, you get control over auto-scrolling and paging zones. There is a quick export of words to Google, Wikipedia and a built-in dictionary. You can include reading aloud. It is very convenient to change the text scale by pinch.
PocketBook supports synchronization between devices via Dropbox. In addition, the application has a built-in ReadRate recommendation service, where you can view reviews, ratings and other information about books. Support for DJVU, a popular illustrated book format, deserves special attention. The application is available without advertising and for free.
KyBook 2
- Supported formats: EPUB, FB2, RTF, PDF, DJVU, MOBI, AZW3, CBR, CBZ, CBT, MP3, M4A, M4B.
It seems that this monstrous reader can boast of all the settings and functions that could be useful when reading from a mobile device. Changing interface themes, managing headers and footers, sorting downloaded books according to different criteria, connecting various dictionaries, speed reading mode - this is just a small part of everything that KyBook 2 has.
Not every reader needs such an arsenal, but if you like customization, you can try this program. KyBook 2 is available free of charge for a month, after which some functions are disabled. You can unblock them and at the same time remove ads for 299 rubles.
History of creation [edit | edit code]
iBooks was announced alongside the iPad at a press conference in January 2010. The iBookstore itself, however, opened in America three days before the iPad was released with the introduction of iTunes 9.1. This was a measure to prevent too much traffic on Apple's servers, as they were overloaded in the past when iPhone releases were made. On April 8, 2010, Apple announced that iBooks would be updated to support the iPhone and iPod Touch with iOS 4. On June 8, 2010, it was announced that iBooks would be updated about once a month to read PDF files, as well as the ability to annotate and PDF files and e-books. As of July 1, Apple has expanded iBooks to Canada, but there's no word on future expansions.
Marvin 3
- Supported formats: EPUB, CBZ, CBR.
Another e-reader with an ultimate set of functions, which is close in capabilities to KyBook 2. However, Marvin 3 supports only one book format (EPUB) and at the same time costs a little more. And in return, apart from the ability to read comics (CBZ, CBR), it doesn’t offer anything revolutionary. Nevertheless, the application is beautiful, and after getting used to it, it is very convenient.
You can test Marvin 3 for free. But a banner at the bottom of the screen will remind you of the existence of a premium version with a set of multi-colored skins.
Choosing a book format for iPhone
Every owner of an Apple iPhone, who is interested in literature or just likes to read sometimes, sooner or later asks the question:
– What format of books for iPhone is most adapted for this model? After all, there are many electronic formats today.
Indeed, there are a lot of text book formats, as well as many applications for reading these very books on the iPhone. In order to understand native book formats, we need to decide on an application for reading books, because without a special program, the iPhone will not be able to open a book at all.
iBooks book formats for iPhone – ePub
Today we will consider the iBooks application as such a program. Why iBooks? Yes, because it was developed by Apple specialists. iBooks can be considered a semi-standard application, since the first versions of iBooks were bundled with the iOS operating system.
Accordingly, the native book formats for iPhone are the book formats of the iBooks application. Therefore, install your iBook and choose the following formats for your iPhone:
In PDF format I mainly upload various instructions, technical documentation and diagrams. For complete reading, choose books in ePub format.
In the iBooks application, only books in ePab format look like real ones, pages turn as if they were alive, covers are supported, there is navigation both by page and by content - all this is very convenient and nice. Therefore, to the question, “Which book format is most suitable for iPhone?” I will answer with all confidence – ePub .
It is in the ePub format that all books that can be purchased in the iBookStore electronic store are created. A book in ePub format can be downloaded to an iPhone using a computer with iTunes installed. If there is no computer nearby, but there is Internet access, then an ePub book can be downloaded to iBooks from any site using the iPhone itself.
You can read books in ePub format not only using iBooks; there are other readers that support this format.
Fb2 book format for Apple iPhone
Among mobile book formats, ePub has a competitor:
To read books in the Fb2 format, iBooks will no longer work; for Fb2 you need to install other readers that support this format. We have already become acquainted with one of these programs earlier; the application is called Aychitalka. The Aichtalka application works specifically with the Fb2 format and is very similar in appearance to iBooks.
Those who do not like the Fb2 format convert it to ePub using various converters made in the form of programs or on-line services. Other users keep several of the best or simply convenient e-readers for iPhone in their arsenal of applications and use them as needed.
Important tip
You've met three popular apps for reading books on iPhone. Although there are many more, I wanted to highlight these three in one article. Of course, using any of these three applications will bring you a lot of benefit and pleasure. However, I would like to remind you that reading puts a lot of strain on the eyes, and you should read in moderation. Especially when it comes to poor lighting.
People with good vision can read in any light without much harm, but people with impaired vision, especially those who wear contacts or glasses, put a lot of strain on their eyes every time they read.
Remember this and take care of your health. Read wisely!
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