The State of iBooks

Apple has shown a bit of an identity crisis with their iBooks brand. Aside from the fact that "iBooks" is very similar to the name of their precursor to the MacBook, the iBook, betas of iOS 11.3 have shown the app renamed to simply "Books." There have also been rumored of a completely revamped iBooks coming soon. I think changing the name to Books would be best, as eBooks are a very common form of media today and trying to brand them as your own is a bit tacky in 2018. Apple faces a lot of challenges in the eBook industry, especially from Amazon. Now, being on top in the eBooks arena means very little to be fair. Printed books are still very common. But I think Apple could take a note from their competitors and capitalize on their shortcomings. Let HomePod read your books to you with Siri's voice (similar to Alexa). Maybe add audiobooks or iBooks into Apple Music subscriptions to get more people on board with Apple Music and the Books app. Textbooks have not been touched for years and I think some revamping of iBooks Author to cater to interactive novels, manga, comics, and project books would be a great way to drive creators and a more diverse selection of readers. Think Live Photos, but for books, where illustrations could have subtle movements. This would be great for manuals and DIY project books especially. There is a lot of room for improvement.