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iOS 7 and Audiobook Chapters

iOS 7 seems to have removed the ability to view individual audiobook chapters in the music app. It has also replaced the chapter length with the length of the entire book in the time scrubber. When tapping the top right-hand corner to access the list of chapters, now it only shows one file for the whole book, whereas before it listed all the chapters, just like it lists all the songs in an album. This change applies to my own audiobooks created using the Mac Audiobook Builder app and to Audible downloads. I haven't tried it on an iTunes purchased audiobook.


If I manage to lose my place, scrubbing (even using quarter-speed or fine) through a 30+ hour audiobook is...let's be polite and say "challenging." I really liked knowing where I was in a chapter, being able to see how much time was left, being able to view the list of chapters, etc. My hope is I'm just missing something here and some iOS 7 wizard can show me how to correct this. But I suspect Apple's just updated the app.

iMac, Macbook, iPhone, Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on Sep 18, 2013 2:34 PM

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505 replies

Sep 19, 2013 8:59 AM in response to Only1Plague

I completely agree. Like you, audiobooks are third on my list of uses for the iPhone after cell phone and e-mail. Ever try to scrub through an audiobook that's 8 hours long with a scrub bar that's only 1.25"? This is a major flaw. While it won't bring the world to a screeching halt, chapter viewing is a basic function in my book. It was a selling point over Audible. Bad move, Apple techies.

Sep 19, 2013 9:25 AM in response to KJBlack

I'm at a total loss about using Audible books now as well -- finding a place in an audio book is bad enough with chapters. It's next to impossible without.


I decided to try the Audible app, and it reported that chapter information is not available on the iPod app. Looking at the music app, it appears that there should be a way to display chapters. There is an icon available, but it just shows the different segments of the book, and not the chapters. Plenty of room is available for chapters, I'm wondering if the information was stripped off of the file in a new format or something.


I wouldn't think this should be a low priority fix. I'm even considering trying to go back to the earlier iOS.

iOS 7 and Audiobook Chapters

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