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First iOS 8.4 beta shows effort to move audiobooks into iBooks app, add new features

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This could lead to some pretty cool stuff.

On Monday, Apple seeded the first iOS 8.4 beta. The build includes a revamped Music application and it’s been noted that the build handles audiobooks differently, moving playback from the Music app to the iBooks app.

At present, audiobooks are divorced from the ebook library. This pushes users to use two different apps to access their entire digital book library. The iOS 8.4 update could consolidate all books in Apple’s iBook app and also fixes another longstanding issue with audiobooks on iOS. Since iOS 7, audiobook listeners have been unable to view chapter titles or even select them. However, it’s been pointed out that while chapters are now selectable in iOS 8.4, they do not list the actual chapter titles, as they’re listed as “track numbers”.


Finally, Apple has added a new fast forward and fast rewind feature, allowing users to easily scrub through an audiobook chapter. Users simply have to drag the book cover art to the left or right and hold to jump back or move forward further within the audiobook.

If you’ve gotten your hands on the first iOS 8.4 beta and had a chance to play with it, please let us know what you think in the comments.

Via MacRumors