Apple reworking iBooks app to get back into the digital books – CNET

The iPhone X could see a new digital book app in the future.

The iPhone X could see a new digital book app in the future.

Oscar Gutierrez/CNET

Apple wants to get you reading on your iPhone again — but with its own app. 

The company is working on a redesigned version of its iBooks app — potentially called just Books — that’s supposed to be simpler to use and feature an updated digital bookstore, according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources. Apple has hired an Amazon executive to help, Bloomberg reported. 

A redesigned reading app could better let Apple compete with Amazon and its Kindle app, which dominates the digital book realm. It would also mark a potential comeback for Apple after the US Justice Department sued the company and publishers for working together to raise book prices and fined Apple $450 million

A reference to Books appears in the developer preview of iOS 11.3, according to Bloomberg. 

Apple wasn’t immediately available for comment.