Top 10: Audiobook apps
October 30, 2024 | Author: Maria Lin
These apps allow to steam audio books or download them for offline playback. Some of the most popular audiobook apps are listed below.
See also: Top 10 Online eBook Stores
See also: Top 10 Online eBook Stores
2024. Audible recruits actors to train voice-generating AI for audiobooks

Audible, Amazon’s audiobook division, revealed that it will develop AI trained on the voices of professional narrators to produce new audiobook recordings. A select group of audiobook narrators based in the U.S. will be invited to train the AI with their voices starting this week, according to Audible. The trained AI will be employed to generate recordings and narrators will have the opportunity to approve their synthetic voice for particular works, as well as modify the pronunciation and pacing. Audible states that narrators who engage in the program will be compensated for any audiobooks produced using their AI-generated voices on a title-by-title, royalty-sharing basis.
2024. Apple Podcasts now allow to listen audio books via web browser

Apple Podcasts can now be streamed from the web. It functions on all major web browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari) in over 170 countries. Apple Podcasts on the web enables users to access features that were previously only available on the app. These include exploring millions of audiobooks, accessing sections like Library and Top Charts, purchasing premium podcast subscriptions and more. Listeners can sync their Apple Accounts to be able to pause a podcast and save their playback progress to listen later, as well as view their followed shows and subscriptions. Users without an Apple Account can also use the web experience but can only explore and listen.
2024. YouTube is testing sleep timer for audio-books

YouTube is testing a new sleep timer feature for its Premium users, allowing them to pause videos after a set time, which is particularly useful for those who fall asleep to long podcasts or audio books. The timer can be enabled on desktop via a specific page or on mobile through the “Settings > Try experimental new features” option and it appears in the video player's Settings menu. Users can choose to pause playback after intervals ranging from 10 minutes to the end of the video and a pop-up will appear to extend the timer if needed. While this feature has been available on Spotify for some time, YouTube is now catching up with its introduction.
2024. Spotify adds countdown timers for Audiobooks

Spotify, in its infinite wisdom (or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof), has decided to spice up the audiobook game by rolling out Countdown Pages—shiny new digital pedestals designed to help listeners obsess over the exact second their next favorite tome hits the metaphorical shelves. These pages, dazzlingly precise, will let users pre-save upcoming audiobooks while authors, publishers, and narrators bask in the pre-launch promotional glow. In a stroke of intergalactic fairness, this feature will be available to both Premium subscribers and those freeloaders on the free tier. Drawing inspiration from its music-streaming escapades—where Countdown Pages helped luminaries like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish whip fans into a frenzy—Spotify is banking on a similar burst of engagement for audiobooks. After all, when 70 percent of pre-saving music fans dive into albums within a week, it’s not entirely unreasonable to imagine audiobook lovers might follow suit, or at least not wander off in search of tea and biscuits first.
2024. Google Play Books to offer audiobook previews on YouTube

Google Play Books has been provided an update that introduces several new features to the app. That includes integration with YouTube where users will be able to listen to audiobook previews for free. This would be in addition to the audiobook previews that are already available via the Play Books app for Android, iOS and the web. As it is, YouTube enjoys a huge userbase and it is only natural Google will like to leverage it to seek better exposure for its audiobooks as well. In any case, Google has been restructuring its media business of late and several of its services such as Play Music and Podcasts have been brought under the purview of YouTube. Among the other changes introduced to Play Books include the addition of the new Upcoming tab at the top of the Library section. So, you will now have Your books, Shelves and Series along with the newly added Upcoming tabs at the top under Library. This, as Google explained, will show “all your pre-orders in one location on a calendar that can be filtered based on specific series or authors.” You will also be provided updates on authors and series that you might have shown interest in, which can be like titles that you may have searched or viewed.
2024. Spotify brings its free audiobooks perk for Premium users to Canada, Ireland and New Zealand

Spotify, in a move that can only be described as whimsically magnanimous, has extended its free audiobook listening extravaganza to the good folk of Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. These lucky individuals now find themselves in possession of 15 hours a month to indulge in the soothing tones of 250,000 audiobook titles—an upgrade from the mere 200,000 that previously graced the platform. This audacious leap comes just two months after Spotify, with a self-assured swagger, announced its audiobook service is now the second-largest in the galaxy (or at least Earth), trailing only behind Audible, that hulking monolith of Amazonian proportions. Since its launch last November, over 150,000 titles have found their way into users’ ears. Accessing these treasures is delightfully simple—just wander into the Home feed or search tab of the Spotify app, and voilà! Although, as with all things in life, there’s a catch: audiobooks marked “Included in Premium” will gently nudge you toward the land of Spotify Premium subscribers. But don’t worry, dear listener, your precious listening hours are safely logged in the app’s settings, because even chaos has its spreadsheets.
2023. Audible launches app for smart watches

In a galaxy not so far away, Audible has flung open the doors of possibility for Android smartwatch users everywhere, releasing a Wear OS app that’s as close to magic as technology can get without actually summoning a wizard. This marvel allows intrepid audiobook explorers to download their treasured tales straight to their wrists, enjoy the fine art of audio at whatever tempo suits them, and even pluck stories directly from their personal library on a Galaxy Watch—no pesky smartphone required! With Audible on Wear OS, you’re free to wander, unshackled from your phone, basking in the glorious convenience of having a universe of books tucked snugly onto your wrist. Whether you’re boldly venturing out or simply refusing to pick up your phone, Audible has created a splendidly immersive way to slip into story worlds, anytime, anywhere.
2023. Beelinguapp allows to learn language by audiobooks
In the vast and often perplexing universe of language learning, where conventional methods tend to resemble Vogon poetry in their lack of charm, Beelinguapp arrives like a friendly, towel-bearing hitchhiker with an irresistibly novel idea. Here, audiobooks and music combine forces to help you master up to 14 languages without the usual mind-numbing drills. Imagine this: text from your own comfortably familiar tongue cheekily juxtaposed alongside the enigmatic squiggles of the language you’re eager to conquer. Delivered in a mesmerizing karaoke-style narration by actual native speakers (none of whom are Vogons, we assure you), it’s a delightfully painless way to immerse yourself in anything from fairytales to news. Whether you fancy Spanish, German, Korean, or French—or, indeed, all of them—this cunning app updates weekly, ensuring you’re never left stranded in a literary desert without fresh content. So grab your device and dive in; it’s language learning with a dash of pan-galactic flair.
2023. Project Gutenberg is offering audiobooks powered by AI

In the grand and improbably improbable style of literary democratization, Project Gutenberg has cheerfully teamed up with the bright boffins of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the ever-so-slightly omnipresent Microsoft to orchestrate a thoroughly ambitious, staggeringly clever scheme. Imagine, if you will, an endless library where the ancient tomes of yore are whispered into your ears via Spotify, Apple, and Google podcasts, all courtesy of AI wizardry. This digital escapade doesn’t just stop at mere narration—it boldly ventures into the curious realm of replicating your voice (yes, your voice!) with a mere 5-second sample, all thanks to a neural text-to-speech technology so advanced it probably needs a towel of its own. With its uncanny ability to emote and enunciate in a positively human manner, this endeavor is on a mission to immortalize classics in the most delightfully accessible of formats. And as if that weren’t enough to make you drop your tea, there are already 5,000 titles ready for your auditory indulgence, with many more poised to join this cosmic catalog of listening joy.
2023. AuthorVoices.ai wants to disrupt audiobook production industry

In the sprawling and occasionally bewildering universe of audiobook creation, where time and money are devoured with the appetite of a particularly ravenous Vogon, AuthorVoices.ai has descended like a mildly surprised towel into the hands of grateful authors. With a flick of its virtual wrist, this platform flings narratives into the auditory cosmos, crafting vibrant soundscapes faster than a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster hits your system, and at a cost that doesn’t require haggling with intergalactic financial consultants. Gone are the draconian contracts and endless invoices—authors now wield the power to stockpile credits and steer their audiobooks through the stars at their own pace and budget. Its AI, a being of almost suspiciously advanced sophistication, juggles the maddening minutiae demanded by audiobook overlords, ensuring a seamless and stellar production that meets the most persnickety of industry requirements. Whether you fancy narrating your opus with your own dulcet tones or prefer a chorus of professionally crafted voices, AuthorVoices.ai transforms the traditionally arduous process into something so straightforward you might almost suspect it’s a trick. It’s not. It’s just brilliantly, absurdly, magnificently revolutionary.
2023. Audiobook service Audioteka acquired by Polish holding

In a move that might best be described as audaciously ambitious or downright inevitable in the grand cosmic scheme of digital acquisitions, Audioteka has found itself scooped up by the magnanimous yet perpetually perplexing Wirtualna Polska Holding Group, a transaction involving a rather elegant sum of €17 million (which, to the untrained eye, might seem suspiciously specific). Audioteka, already renowned for its admirable dedication to audiobooks, has been laboring away in Warsaw to create a multilingual, multidimensional mobile app that seems capable of enchanting listeners across 23 countries in no fewer than 9 languages, which is possibly more than strictly necessary but charmingly thorough. Now, as these two enterprises align their various resources, untold synergies are forecasted, meaning customers can brace themselves for a digital listening experience likely to be both dizzyingly comprehensive and—as these things often are—slightly mysterious.
2023. Spotify Tesla app now supports audiobooks

In an astonishing twist of cosmic inevitability, the Tesla Spotify app has finally had an update, which, as you might expect, brings thrillingly essential features that absolutely nobody could live without – like audiobooks. Yes, audiobooks! But that’s not all; the rather clunky login process has been revamped so dramatically that now you can simply hold up your smartphone, scan a QR code, and – quite miraculously – gain instant access to your app, without all that tediously painful password-typing nonsense. Imagine that! But wait, there's more. Borrowed from the celestial archives of the Spotify desktop app, you can now click on an artist’s name right from a playlist and immediately be whisked away to their artist page, or even, if you're feeling particularly bold, their album page. This feature, undoubtedly designed by hyper-intelligent beings, now graces the Tesla app as well, creating an experience as seamless as a Vogon poetry recital is torturous. If that weren’t enough, the entire app has been polished to a modern shine, so it not only works smoothly but looks absolutely stunning. Audiobook browsing is now so streamlined you might actually find what you’re looking for without losing your place. In sum, this update is a curious mix of visual splendor, intelligent redesign, and overall usability that Spotify aficionados are sure to find vaguely satisfying in the infinite stretch of time.
2023. Android Reading Mode can turn any text into an audiobook

Android users have now entered a splendid new era of multitasking and reading, thanks to Google’s latest app, delightfully named Reading Mode. For those who want to devour content while juggling life’s many other digital demands—or, let’s be honest, for the visually impaired who’ve had quite enough of straining their eyes—Reading Mode offers a feast of customization options. Users can tweak font type, size, and color with all the flair of an intergalactic interior decorator. And if hands-free reading is more your speed, the app’s text-to-speech function will kindly read each paragraph aloud, even if you’ve cunningly moved on to other apps or turned off your screen altogether. Simply find a website laden with text, activate the shortcut, and voilà—an accessible reading experience tailored to your whim. The first time you set up the shortcut, you may be prompted to choose "Reading Mode" if your device has other accessibility apps, and then, my friend, you’re in for a treat.
2023. Audible is testing ad-supported access

Audible is testing ad-supported access to select titles for non-members. The move indicates that the company may be exploring the possibility of an ad-based membership option. Audible declined to comment on any specific plans. The test includes audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals. Audible says the test applies to a limited subsection of titles on its platform. Content providers were informed of the change and given the chance to opt out of ads. Users who are part of the test will hear a total of eight ads within a 24-hour period. Audible says it has taken additional measures to make sure that ads won’t be heard too frequently within a short time span. The company currently offers an Audible Plus membership plan that costs $7.95 per month and includes a selection of Audible Originals, audiobooks, sleep tracks, meditation programs and podcasts.
2023. Autio - location-based audio storytelling app

In the sprawling cosmic journey of location-based audio entertainment, Autio—once whimsically named HearHere—sprang to life like a well-timed hitchhiker with a GPS. Co-founded by none other than Kevin Costner (who may or may not have been quietly narrating this in your head), this app transforms your meandering road trips into epic tales of discovery. Using the magic of satellites and storytelling, Autio delivers captivating yarns about landmarks, cities, and towns in your vicinity, aiming to leave you both enlightened and slightly awestruck by your surroundings. Back in the slightly more innocent days of August 2020, it started with a humble 1,500 stories, but now boasts an almost improbably galactic 10,000 tales spanning the United States and attracting over 230,000 curious users. While its charms currently grace only iOS users, fear not, Android adventurers—Autio is quietly testing a beta version of itself and promises to make its intergalactic debut on your devices soon.
2023. What is better: reading or listening to a book?

In this whirling, hyperactive era where people barely have time to remember what they had for breakfast (or if they even had it), finding time to read a good book has become something of a herculean feat. There was once a noble age when people could lounge about in the sun, cracking open hefty novels and contemplating character arcs. But alas, now we are bombarded with endless streams of entertainment and messages, each one vying for our precious, dwindling attention. So, along comes the audiobook—a fantastically sneaky way to stay tethered to the world of books while you shuffle about, multitasking your way through life. ***
2022. BookBaby and Speechki create AI voice-narrated audiobooks
BookBaby, a rather significant figure in the universe of audiobooks (or at least this corner of it), has announced a partnership with the intriguingly named startup Speechki. Together, they plan to harness the bewilderingly clever powers of AI-driven synthetic voice narration to revolutionize audiobook creation. According to a press release (which, let’s face it, is as close as corporate types get to heartfelt poetry), this dynamic duo aims to make audiobook production faster and cheaper—presumably freeing up time for authors to ponder life, the universe, and everything. Armed with Speechki's marvelously multilingual tech (77 languages and counting, plus a cast of 50 synthetic voice actors), BookBaby claims it can now produce audio proofs in a mere 5 days post-manuscript upload. Authors, naturally, get to pick both the language and the AI voice actor for their cosmic audio adventure.
2022. Spiracle - a new stylish audiobook platform

Imagine, if you will, a new and splendidly peculiar corner of the audiobook universe called Spiracle, which has just fluttered into existence in the United Kingdom. Like a bookshop that accidentally wandered off the beaten path and found itself in a dream, Spiracle specializes in titles from independent presses and publishers, curating a glorious array of literary fiction, nonfiction, and even works magically conjured into English from other languages. Not content with merely offering a platform, Spiracle gets hands-on, crafting some of its own audiobooks in charming collaboration with smaller publishers. It’s a subscription service (£12.99 per month or a heftier annual fee, if you’re feeling wildly committed), but fear not: if the notion of subscribing gives you hives, you can simply pay as you go and wander through their collection at your leisure.
2022. Spotify to sells audiobooks

Spotify is entering the audiobook market with its new section, Spotify Audiobooks. This means you'll be able to enjoy your favorite music, podcasts and books all in one location, whether or not you subscribe to Spotify Premium. However, unlike music and podcasts on Spotify, the audiobooks are not free. To buy an audiobook through Spotify, you'll be directed to the web from the app to finalize your purchase—similar to how you pay for Spotify Premium—and then returned to the app. Each audiobook is priced individually in line with industry norms. There is no discount for Spotify Premium subscribers. This feature allows users to download audiobooks that they can keep indefinitely; the platform offers over 300,000 titles across a wide range of genres.
2022. Audiobook platform Podimo raises $59M

Audiobook platform Podimo has announced a new round of funding amounting to $58.99 million. The company stated it will allocate a significant portion of this funding to enter new markets and enhance both its content and technology platform. Notably, Podimo’s business model is already profitable and has managed to quintuple its number of paid subscribers, despite being operational for only three years. The company has consistently focused on what it describes as a “dedicated local-first approach,” which involves “investing in local content from today’s most influential voices.” Podimo offers streaming services in countries such as Denmark, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and throughout Latin America.
2022. Audrey is a new audiobook app with a twist

Audrey is a new mobile audiobook application with all the features of any other, but designed to help listeners connect with fiction in a more profound and insightful manner. Each audiobook features a custom illustration created by professional artists and the service includes guides who assist users in discovering their next audiobook. Each title comes with chapter-by-chapter summaries and real-time character descriptions, ensuring you’re always informed about the story’s progress with no-spoiler guides. The guides are authors, literary scholars, translators, editors and similar experts, selected for their knowledge of the book, author, or themes. The Audrey Guide offers historical and cultural context, author information, reflection prompts, a playlist and more. These are presented in a spoiler-free, digestible format in the app’s ‘Notes from the Guide’ section, which updates in real time as the listener progresses through the book.
2022. Barnes and Noble Audiobooks officially launches

Barnes & Noble is introducing a new dedicated Nook Audiobooks app for Android and iOS in addition to their existing website. The bookseller has been working to feature audiobooks on their main site, which now includes a specialized landing page. Customers will also notice a new audiobook category when searching for books; previously, only print and ebooks were available, but now audiobooks are listed on every book page as well. The Nook App for Android and iOS has also gained an audiobook player, allowing users to listen to content purchased from the website, though they can no longer buy audio content directly within the app. The most enticing feature is the new audiobook subscription service. For $14.99 per month, you receive an audiobook credit that can be redeemed for one of their 200,000 audiobooks from major publishers. The audiobooks can be enjoyed on the Nook app for Android, iOS, or the web player.
2022. You can no longer buy audiobooks on Audible for Android

Audible is altering their app experience on the Android platform. They are transitioning to Google Play Billing, which will impact individual title purchases; you will no longer be able to buy them directly. Additionally, new Audible memberships will be billed through Google Play rather than directly through Audible. You will still be able to use Audible credits to purchase books within the app and can also acquire additional credits there. This change is due to a new Google Policy for developers, which now imposes a 30% fee on each digital good for larger companies that earn over $1 million annually.
2022. Speechki allows publishers and authors to turn books into audiobooks

The audiobook market is thriving. After nine consecutive years of double-digit growth, the American Publishing Association recently predicted that audiobook revenue could exceed ebook revenue as early as 2023. However, fewer than 5% of books are available in audio format. For publishers and authors looking to enhance accessibility and revenue by producing audiobooks, Speechki offers a straightforward solution. Speechki produces audiobooks with synthetic narration generated by artificial intelligence for as little as $500. With 364 lifelike voices in 77 languages, Speechki aims to assist publishers in creating over a million new titles in the next 12-24 months.
2022. RBmedia now has German-Language Audiobooks

In a move as grand and inevitable as the universe itself, RBmedia, the planet’s most prodigious producer of audiobooks (yes, really, the largest), has taken a confident leap into the German-language audio cosmos with the launch of its stellar new brand, RBmedia Verlag. As if to underscore their unrelenting galactic expansion, RBmedia also scooped up ABOD, a leading light in German audiobook publishing. For nearly a decade, ABOD has been churning out compelling audiobooks on economics and politics under the banners of ABOD and Hörbuch München, all crafted in their state-of-the-art Munich sound studios—because, naturally, where else would they be?
2021. Podimo - European audiobook platform

In the far reaches of digital ingenuity, somewhere in the metaphorical galaxy of apps, lies the wondrous Podimo, a platform so remarkably clever it hails from Copenhagen but insists on spreading joy across chunks of Europe—Denmark, Spain, Germany, Norway—and the vast expanse of Latin America. Imagine an app where audiobooks from every conceivable corner of the world are free to download, requiring not so much as a pesky login. But wait, there's more: become a paying member and behold the gates to an unparalleled universe of 600+ dazzlingly original shows you won’t find anywhere else, along with a treasure trove of audiobooks. Oh, and in a delightful twist of intergalactic fairness, your membership fee beams directly to the creators you’ve tuned in to that month—no matter where they are, exclusive or not. Isn’t that just cosmic?
2021. Spotify sets its sights on audiobooks with Findaway acquisition

Spotify, in a move as bold as a Vogon poetry recital and twice as ambitious, has snagged Findaway, a top-notch audiobook platform that’s all about flinging stories into ears everywhere. This isn’t just about distribution—though they’re frightfully good at that—it’s also a playground for indie authors who fancy a crack at self-publishing. Among its various machinations, Findaway runs audiobook matchmaking services where authors and narrators join forces, potentially opening up a shiny new revenue stream for Spotify. Of course, this isn’t Spotify’s first tango with audiobooks; remember the Harry Potter audio escapade in 2020? More recently, they’ve dabbled with classics read by celebrities, presumably adding a dollop of panache to your morning commute.
2021. Costco launches new Audiobook Store and iOS App

Costco, that gargantuan temple of bulk consumerism, has decided to dip its considerable toes into the swirling pool of audiobooks. The retail behemoth has unveiled an audiobook store on their website, complemented by a shiny, free app for iOS where you can merrily listen to your acquisitions. True to its ethos, Costco offers audiobook bundles—a smorgasbord of titles at laughably low prices, lovingly curated by its staff. At present, you won't find standalone audiobooks cluttering up the place, but who knows? Evolution is a wondrous thing. However, there's a catch (isn't there always?): you’ll need a membership card and a U.S. address to join the party, as our Canadian neighbors are still waiting in the wings. The secret sauce here? That membership model, which not only makes the bundles dirt-cheap but also bestows deals that outshine the likes of Audible, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble. How terribly Costco of them.
2021. Waze now allows to stream Audible-audiobooks when driving a car

Mobile navigation app Waze, which provides driving directions, has integrated with Audible, enabling drivers to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Audible subscribers can begin enjoying audio content directly within Waze, including Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts. Drivers can access over 600,000 Audible Originals and a vast amount of additional content. Waze already connects with numerous other audio apps, including Spotify, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, NPR and others.
2020. Audible is changing its subscription packages

In the sort of unassuming but altogether marvelous way things tend to happen in the universe of audiobooks, Audible has unveiled a shiny new contraption called Audible Plus. For the modest sum of $7.95 per month—a number that sounds like it was plucked from thin air but is really rather precise—you’ll have access to a staggering 68,000 hours of content, including over 11,000 original productions, audiobooks, and podcasts. Meanwhile, their trusty old Audible Gold program has been given a fresh coat of paint and is now strutting about as Audible Premium Plus, priced at $14.95 per month. Here’s the twist: Audible Plus is all about diving into podcasts and original content, but alas, no credits in sight. Current Audible members can leap into the Plus library today, while new recruits will have to wait, with bated breath, until August 27th to join the fun.
2019. DeepZen allows authors to turn ebooks into audiobooks

In the vast and improbably complex cosmos of voice technology, DeepZen floats serenely like a digital whale that’s just realized it can sing. Powered by the genius-level synapses of IBM’s Power A.I. and Watson technologies, DeepZen has conjured a text-to-speech system that sounds so convincingly human you’d swear it had opinions about tea. But this isn’t just your average robotic droning; no, this marvel of vocal wizardry also interprets emotional cues with all the flair of a Shakespearean actor on opening night. By doing so, DeepZen boldly suggests it could slash audiobook production time and costs by a staggering 90%, which is, incidentally, about the same probability of discovering a Vogon poetry appreciation club on Earth. And while they promise not to send narrators packing to another dimension, they aim to lend smaller publishers and indie authors a friendly AI tentacle, sparing them the chaos of hiring a narrator who insists on reading the entire book in a pirate accent.
2018. Audible brings its audiobook library to the Apple Watch

Amazon-owned audiobook platform Audible has just launched its Apple Watch app. You can listen to audiobooks and manage your library directly from the compact screen. It’s a logical advancement for the service, considering the emphasis Apple has placed on smartwatch audio, with last year’s introduction of an LTE version of the watch and the recent unveiling of a native podcasting app for the platform. This also contributes to justifying the recent addition of Aaptiv fitness routines, which Audible integrated a few weeks ago. The feature made some sense on the phone, but bringing the course directly to a fitness/health-oriented device like the Apple Watch helps complete that vision. Those workout and meditation resources are free to Audible users until September of next year.
2018. Walmart and Kobo launched online e-book and audiobook store

Walmart has teamed up with Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten to offer audiobooks, e-books and e-readers alongside its selection of physical books. The new site, named Walmart eBooks, features a collection of over 6 million titles, including NYT best-sellers, indie books and children’s literature. Similar to Amazon’s Audible, Walmart will also provide a monthly audiobook subscription service. However, Walmart is undercutting Amazon on pricing. While Audible subscriptions start at $14.95 per month for one audiobook, Walmart’s subscription is priced at just $9.99 per month for the same service. Walmart will also offer Rakuten-owned Kobo e-readers both online and in stores.
2018. Google Audiobooks gets Trim Silences feature

In the vast, sprawling multiverse of audiobook options, where endless moments can stretch between words like a particularly lazy time-traveling couch potato, Google Play Books emerges as your singular portal for experiencing audiobooks acquired from Google. And lo, they’ve just unveiled a sparkling new gizmo called Trim Silences, which, with the grace of a caffeinated Vogon (but considerably more pleasant results), deftly snips away those interminable gaps between sentences. While most audiobooks are engineered by professionals who wouldn’t dream of such temporal redundancies, small presses and indie authors sometimes let a pause linger like a whale contemplating the meaning of gravity. In such cases, Trim Silences proves to be not just a feature, but a minor miracle.
2018. Audio Reader app for Android turns any ebook into audiobook

Good e-Reader has launched an Android app—Audio Reader—that converts any ebook into an audiobook. It reads aloud all of your sideloaded content using Amazon Polly, the same technology that powers Alexa. It supports 28 languages and 12 different voices for English users. With just over 36,000 audiobooks produced worldwide each year and most publishers prioritizing their new releases, many older titles receive less attention. Professionally narrated audiobooks typically cost between $15 and $49, which can be pricey. Audio Reader offers a solution by narrating any EPUB/MOBI/PRC sideloaded books with a natural-sounding voice, at no cost.
2018. Google Play audiobooks get Smart Resume and bookmarks

Google Play Audiobooks is receiving a significant update that introduces several new features that were notably absent when it debuted earlier this year. The most beneficial new feature is Smart Resume. Instead of resuming in the middle of a sentence or even a word when your audiobook playback is interrupted, this new feature will intelligently rewind to the start of the word or sentence, helping you maintain your immersion. This update also includes the ability to set bookmarks so you can easily return to your favorite sections of a book and the option to adjust the playback speed—whether speeding it up or slowing it down to thoroughly enjoy a favorite passage in Ulysses. If you regularly use Google Assistant and are already taking advantage of the newly launched Routines feature, you'll be pleased to know that you can now choose to continue your audiobooks when you wake up or begin your commute.
2018. Scribd reintroduced unlimited audiobooks and eBooks

Scribd has reinstated an unlimited audiobook and ebook subscription service. This allows users to read as many ebooks, magazines, newspapers, sheet music and audiobooks as they wish each month while remaining a subscriber. Casual readers who consume a few books per month from major publishers will find Scribd's service appealing. However, avid readers may encounter restrictions—not in a literal sense, of course. After reaching a certain number of titles, users will lose access to the full Scribd catalog and will only be able to read from a restricted selection. The exact threshold for this limitation is not specified. Amazon Kindle Unlimited serves as Scribd's main competitor but is available only in select regions and lacks many titles from major publishers.
2018. Google brings audiobooks to its Play store

Google Play Store now offers audiobooks. This new audiobook feature is rolling out in 45 countries and nine languages. Similar to other platforms, you can listen to a preview of the audiobook on the Play Store and audiobooks are automatically added to your family library, allowing you to easily share your audiobook copy of “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” with everyone in your household. One handy feature is its integration with Google Assistant on both your phone and Google Home. With this integration, you can simply ask the assistant to read your book and it will do so. You can also inquire about basic details of the book (“Who is the author?”). Google’s pricing appears to be competitive with similar offerings from Amazon.
2017. Kindle gets Audible audiobooks support

The entry-level 8th generation Kindle and the first generation Amazon Kindle Oasis have both received firmware updates that enable users to purchase and listen to Audible audiobooks using Bluetooth headphones. There is a new option that lets you switch from the Kindle bookstore to Audible, featuring a series of images promoting the updated bookstore. If you are an Audible subscriber, any audiobook purchased with your monthly credits will automatically sync to your Kindle’s library. The built-in audiobook player is feature-rich; you can skip forward or backward by fifteen seconds and adjust the pitch level. While listening to an audiobook, the Oasis shows the remaining time in a chapter and includes software-controlled volume buttons. A Bluetooth notification at the bottom of the screen indicates the device you’ve paired with the Oasis or provides instructions on connecting headphones or a wireless speaker.
2017. Audible launched new unlimited subscription service Romance

Audible Romance is a new unlimited subscription service that provides users access to thousands of audiobook titles. Listeners will be able to immediately view a romance title’s level of steaminess. It offers access to 41 micro-categories and 131 story and character archetypes, allowing users to delve deeply into the catalog in engaging ways and find the romance titles that best match their preferences. Each micro-category will feature its own browse page and listeners can preview audio samples from each title before committing to the full story. Audible Romance is priced at $6.95 per month as an add-on to an Audible membership, or $14.95 per month as a standalone service.
2017. Instaread audiobook store launches on iOS

Instaread, the iOS app for those whose schedules are so alarmingly packed they can only absorb the wisdom of humanity’s greatest nonfiction minds in 15-minute bursts for $7.99 a month, has taken a rather unexpected leap. It now offers full-length audiobooks for purchase right inside the app, effectively doing what Audible, that lumbering colossus of the audiobook realm, simply refuses to do in its own iPhone or iPad domain. A stroke of brilliance? Perhaps. A cosmic thumb in the eye of convenience's cosmic irony? Definitely.
2017. Kobo launched Audio Bookstore

Kobo has introduced an audiobook store that offers audiobooks both individually and through a subscription model. Their entire audiobook collection is supported by Overdrive, marking their first involvement in an audiobook subscription service. Kobo has updated their app for Android and iOS, incorporating a fully functional audiobook player. On Android, you can purchase and listen to content, while on iOS, you can only listen to titles you have already purchased or used a credit for. The Kobo audiobook service is available now in the US, UK, Canada and Australia for $9.99 per month.
2017. Audiobooks.com now allows to listen to audiobooks on Apple Watch and Android Wear

Audiobooks.com, which offers streaming capabilities on tvOS, Sonos, CarPlay, Android Auto and select infotainment systems in GM, Land Rover and Jaguar vehicles, has just launched full support for Apple iWatch and Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches. Smartwatch users can now open the Audiobooks.com app from their smartwatch, browse and listen to any audiobook in their My Books library and manage playback with controls for play, pause, skip, rewind and volume. This update follows the recent Wear 2.0 version upgrade for Android, with which Audiobooks.com is fully compatible. Users of Audiobooks.com who have wearable devices can begin listening right away with no additional steps required.
2017. Audiobooks.com is now available on Sonos home sound systems

In a move that might well please audiophiles, bibliophiles, and those who simply enjoy the notion of stories wafting through the air like particularly well-behaved ghosts, Audiobooks.com has cheerily announced its sudden and immediate arrival on Sonos devices worldwide. Subscribers, now equipped with the power to fill their homes with high-quality sound and literary wonder, need only tap into their Sonos controller app, bravely select Add Music Services, scroll down (preferably with purpose and a touch of flair) to the Audiobooks.com icon, and log in. This Sonos dalliance joins a glittering roster of other partnerships, including Android Auto, CarPlay, tvOS, and select infotainment systems from GM, Jaguar, and Land Rover, leaving no room—or vehicle—untouched by the charm of streaming tales.
2016. Findaway launched new audiobook app - Duobook

Findaway, the planet’s most improbably massive audiobook distributor—responsible for filling the digital shelves of Nook Audiobooks, Scribd, and what seems like a small galaxy of others—has just unleashed a new contraption upon the unsuspecting universe: the Duobook. This cunningly named app appears to suggest that Findaway might be preparing to do a bit of improbable cosmic pivoting. At first glance, DuoBook is a straightforward audiobook player and eBook reader bundled together, but its true genius lies in a devious little trick: it aligns audiobooks and eBooks so perfectly that you can hop between listening and reading without losing your place in the story. It’s as if it knows your commuting self wants to listen while your bedtime self prefers the glow of a screen — and then, as if powered by an Infinite Improbability Drive, it ensures you’re always right where you left off.
2016. You can now give Audiobooks to your friends via Audible

Audible has just introduced a new gifting feature that will enable you to share a single audiobook with your friends. Each recipient receives their first title for free and Audible will compensate authors, narrators and other rights holders the equivalent value of the title. If you are an Audible member and have purchased an audiobook, you can immediately send this book to your friends via email, text, Facebook Messenger, or WhatsApp, compatible with iOS, Android and Windows 10 devices. If your friend is not an Audible member, they simply need to sign up for a free account to listen to the book you shared with them.
2016. Audible Clips allows to share audiobook passages

Audible launched a new feature called Clips. It enables you to share 45-second snippets of whatever you're listening to and is compatible with various platforms including Facebook and SMS. Listeners enjoy discussing books, authors and narrators they are enthusiastic about and Clips simplifies the process for customers to initiate meaningful conversations with friends and family directly from their audiobook whenever inspiration strikes. Clips can be shared across multiple channels including Facebook, Twitter, SMS, email, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and more. Authors and narrators can use this tool to increase visibility for their audiobooks.
2015. Barnes & Noble released Nook Audiobooks app

In a move that seems to suggest they've been taking their business tips from a particularly chatty galactic hitchhiker, Barnes and Noble has decided it’s time to get properly serious about audiobooks. Enter the shiny new Nook Audiobooks App for iPhone and iPad, along with a rather spiffy website, NOOKAudiobooks.com. This cunningly devised digital lair boasts a selection of over 60,000 audiobooks, which one can browse, sample, and, with the delightful absence of a pesky subscription, purchase straight through the app. As if that weren’t enough, you can even try before you buy, with free samples just a tap away—perfect for listening anywhere, whether you're lounging on a sofa or fleeing from a Vogon poetry reading.
2015. Amazon Echo adds audiobooks support

Amazon has launched an update for their Amazon Echo smart assistant and this new update introduces support for audiobooks on the device. The Amazon Echo can now read audiobooks to you, including titles from Audible and Kindle Unlimited. You can use your Amazon Echo or the Amazon Echo App to play, pause, or skip forward/backward in the audiobook. The device also supports Whispersync for Voice, which tracks your current playback position. You can start listening to an audiobook on the Amazon Echo and continue from where you left off by reading (or listening to) the same title on a compatible Fire or Kindle device, Kindle reading app, or Audible app, without losing your place.
2015. Rakuten buys ebook and audiobook platform OverDrive

Japanese e-commerce behemoth Rakuten entered the e-reader market in 2011 when it acquired hardware manufacturer Kobo for $315 million. Now, it has purchased ebook and audiobook marketplace OverDrive for $410 million. OverDrive, which offers over 2.5 million titles from more than 5,000 publishers, will enhance the selection and reading options for Kobo users. OverDrive’s extensive content library and connections with publishers, libraries, schools and retailers will enable Rakuten to broaden its mission of empowerment to new market segments. Notably, Rakuten stated that the acquisition of OverDrive — expected to be finalized next month — will bring its eBook business “close to breakeven” by the end of this year, thanks to OverDrive’s financials, which reported end-of-year (EBITDA) revenue of $25 million for 2014.