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Apple reworking iBooks app to get back into the digital books

The company is aiming for a simpler interface for the reading app in its iPhones and iPads, according to Bloomberg.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
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  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
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Roger Cheng
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.