iOS 8.4 Audiobooks Issues

Since Apple get a 30% cut of every third party app sold, they have no incentive to fix it.

I'm one of the people that is part of this thread on page 1. I'm as frustrated as everyone else with this issue and even sent an e-mail to Tim Cooke to complain. I got a response from the Product Manager of iBooks who promised he'd "...look into it and get back to you." Needless to say after submitting files that were requested, I've never heard another thing. I'm hoping that the imminent 8.4.1 contains a fix, and certainly 9.0 when it's released this Fall.

I wanted to let everyone know that there are two very good workarounds to this problem. The first is to use Audible, a free app from Audible.com. The three tabs on top of the main screen let you choose between Cloud (content in your Audible library), Device (content downloaded from your library on Audible) and iTunes. I've been using the iTunes tab to play my audiobooks and it behaves exactly as I'd expect with all content intact and the last played position accurately remembered.

The second is an app entitled MP3 Audiobook Player. The app is free but requires an in-app purchase to remove advertising and duration limit. The total of both is $2.98. The only downside of this app is that the books need to be loaded from iTunes and then synced to your iPhone or iPad. Other than the minor expense for the app and the inconvenience of preloading content, it is an excellent player.

Lastly, in the very unlikely event I ever hear back from Apple regarding this issue, I'll be sure and let everyone know when fix will be available.

I should also have included a third option called Bookmobile. While it costs $3.99 in the App Store, it is an outstanding app for listening to audiobooks or podcasts. Unlike MP3 Audiobook Player, there is no need to preload content in iTunes. The app sees what is on your phone and then allows you to add it directly to the app. I'm so impressed with this app I may even use it after Apple gets around to fixing iBooks.

Thank you so much. I have been raging about this and the Audible app then iTunes suggestion has fixed it.

Another audiobook sufferer here. In the absence of immediate solutions from Apple, I tried out a couple of the suggested alternative apps but didn't find any that restored all the features that are essential to me (always keep my place & start exactly where it stopped, use my playlists, auto-start the next book in the playlist after finishing the current one, sync from iTunes and report plays/last played date back to iTunes).

The best solution I've found, which does all those things, is to reassign the file's "media kind" from audiobook to music. That puts it back into the Music app (as long as you make sure to tell the Music app to sync with your audiobook playlist(s)). You do lose some audiobook functionality, e.g. that handy 15-second jump forward/back, control over playback speed (I always listen at normal speed, but I know some people prefer to listen faster), and the chapter listing (which has been missing in the Music app for several iterations now). So going Music won't work if those are dealbreakers for you.

But for me, it's brought back the usable audiobook experience I've been accustomed to. It's not perfect, but it will do till Apple gets around to fixing what they broke.

I found exactly this problem too. I didn't really like the way any of the third party apps worked, particularly having to load in books, so I made my own, called "Audiobook Browser"!

It has taken a while to get it through app review etc, but it is now available: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/gb/app/audiobook-browser-free/id1020961830?mt=8 Please do check it out and let me know what you think. It is a simple app for browsing audiobooks already in your media library by playlist, genre, auther or album and also for playing them and seeing the individual chapter titles. The free (ad supported) version is available now, and there is a paid version still coming through app review that has no ads. If you have feedback, let me know.

MagnusB,

I just downloaded your new app but it crashes on launch. I'm very impressed that you built this on your own to counter the problem that Apple has created with audiobooks, but for me, the app may not be ready for prime time. If you need any help in testing, please feel free to reach out to me.

Hi, Thanks for letting me know. Can I ask a couple of favours: First can you switch on "Share with App Developers" in Privacy>Diagnostics and Usage Settings on your phone, then I will be able to examine some data on what caused the crash, although it isn't always helpful! Also, can you try it a couple more times and see if it works. In one test run it crashed on launch for some reason I couldn't fathom, but after a couple of tries it worked fine, and never did it again in any other tests.

Thanks

MagnusB,

I've tried restarting my phone, uninstalling and reinstalling the app (3x) and trying to launch it 10 times straight. Still no luck.

Diagnostics were already turned on so you should receive the data.

What I'm seeing is that the exception type is EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP). The thread code is 0, which is labeled as BookBrowser.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info - I'll try and look into it, but it is my first app, so I am still feeling my way. If anyone else has this issue, or has it working fine, please do let me know.

Thanks

The latest problem I've found is that one of my audiobooks keeps crashing on iPad and won't open, although it loads and plays on my iPhone. The rest seem to work, although with problems already described here and in other places.

All this doesn't surprise me. Audiobooks (any books) have always been the forgotten stepchild for Apple, a company that has profited so richly from music. I get it; the music is where the money is, and you have shareholders. But these workaround solutions in the form of other apps aren't going to cut it for me. (I've spent too much time on apps that don't work well, and they're never worth it.)

Apple, get it together. At the very least, audiobooks need to a) open and play, b) hold their position, and c) allow for multitasking/browsing/reading other content while listening.

Right now I'm spending more time listening to library books available on the OverDrive app. It actually works, in a basic, no-frills kind of way, and keeps me entertained while I wait for Apple to fix this. As for my CD-ripped audiobooks, I keep those as music playlists. Sure I lose my position, but I've listened to many of those multiple times, and I'm used to the workaround. Because Apple has never been about books, and I've just sort of accepted that. I guess I'm not holding my breath.

Hi,

I have had a look at the crash reports in xcode. As far as I can see the app has only crashed on one device so far, an iPhone 6+. It appears to be when the array of artist names is sorted:

audiobooksList.sort({ $0.artist < $1.artist })

Do you have any tracks with no artist set, or with some really weird characters in the artist name? I think I assumed every track would have a title and artist, but did special checks for genre name etc to prevent such crashes, so could do the same for artist too if this was the problem.

Thanks for any help you can give me on this. I am about to go away on holiday, but will try and sort out an update in September when I come back. Would you be interested in being a beta-tester via Apples Test Flight system?

MagnusB, I am using an iPhone 5c and I have the issue with the app crashing as well. Love the idea, hope it's fixed soon!

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me on that. Do you think you might have a file with no artist (author) listed? I have made a small change to check for that - if you are prepared to be a beta tester you could see if it works on your device. Let me know by sending an email to bookbrowserapp "at" gmail.com and I will invite you to the beta-testing program.

Thanks

PS Does anyone on this forum have it working? Great to hear feedback from those with problems, but it would be nice to know if it is working for anyone and whether they find it useful.

I just scanned my music and audiobook library and nothing seems to be strange about any of the entries. The only thing out of the ordinary would be Adele's album with the title "21" as opposed to alpha characters, and I suspect that's not the problem.

Count me in as a beta tester for your app. I saw your e-mail on a later post and I'll send my contact info to that address.

Enjoy your vacation!