Do you know you can buy an audiobook from Spotify’s iPhone App in a few clicks? Yes, you heard it right. Spotify has announced that Apple approved an update which enables the users in USA to get the prices of audiobooks with the application and make purchase outside the App store. Let’s delve deeper into the newest update by Sportify.
How Do Audiobooks Work on Spotify?
After subscribing to Spotify Premium, users get easy access to the large poor of audiobooks accessible with the subscription. Spotify assigns a particular number of listening hours per user every month. Currently, the users can enjoy 15 hours a month, that gets them through a book.
The users can click on the audiobooks section and search through different titles on offer. They can also use the search function to check whether they have a particular title. You can also save the audiobooks by adding them to the library.
After finding the right book that you want from Spotify’s iPhone App, you can click on the play button and continue listening for up to 15 hours every month.
Features of Audiobooks on Spotify
Price: One of the striking feature of Spotify is the cost. The price is minimal and provides access to the audiobooks. However, the price may not remain the same for longer term.
Recent Releases: Another essential feature is the significant number of recent releases. So you can listen to Spotify without waiting for a library that requires additional money for another subscription. They have several new releases like Britney Spears’ memoir and Ali Hazelwood’s latest novel that is quite impressive.
Browsing experience: The audiobook tab is problematic to navigate by genre. However, they have set their standard search feature to allow you to type in a genre such as romance or memoir. Through this, you can get a list of books that suit the genre. This makes the browsing experience smooth and seamless.
Latest Updates in Spotify’s iPhone App
As of May 2025, US iOS users can now buy individual audiobooks directly from Spotify’s iPhone App using an external payment gateway. This update allows users to see audiobook prices and complete their purchase without leaving the application.
The users can click on the lock icon shown on the audiobook to purchase a web view within the application while navigating to the audiobooks tab in the spotify app. This uninterrupted experience shows a significant improvement from the old version, which required users to purchase the application.
Such a change reduces the barriers for additional users to enjoy their first or tenth audiobook. This enables the authors and publishers to effectively reach out to readers and fans.
The latest update allows Spotify Premium subscribers to buy additional audiobook listening hours. This update follows the Epic Game vs. Apple judgement last month, which improved the iPhone maker’s control over the App Store. Under this ruling, Apple cannot charge fees on purchases made outside Spotify’s iPhone App Store and cannot govern how developers redirect external purchases.
Spotify officially announced the updates. In 2022, Spotify removed audiobook purchases from its iOS app after alleging that Apple of severe competition with App Store regulations that made it more problematic to buy audiobooks. Spotify also allows iPhone users to buy subscriptions outside the App Store.
The iOS applications for Kindle, Delta’s emulator, and Patreo have also benefited from the court ruling. However, Epic Games is still battling to bring Fortnite back to the App Store.
A History of Dispute
As discussed above, this update resolved the long-term conflict between Apple and Spotify that started in 2022. During this period, Spotify tried to add audiobooks to its platform but experienced several rejections from Apple, which interrupted Spotify’s ability to communicate purchase methods to users outside Spotify’s iPhone App Store environment.
As per MacRumors, Apple rejected the update submitted three times due to claims regarding how applications could inform users about external purchasing methods. The dispute emerged because Spotify tried to email customers with direct links to buy audiobooks, which Apple had not previously permitted.
Finally, Spotify conceded in 2022 and removed information on how to buy audiobooks from its iPhone App. The audiobook functionality remained restricted till the recent updates to Apple’s US App Store policies. The new policy has included the legal rulings that now enables allications to direct customers to buying options outside the Apple’s settings.
Implications of the Update for Digital Content
Spotify’s iPhone App audiobook offers more than 250,000 titles to Premium subscribers. Most premium plans allow 15 hours of listening. This premium offering places Spotify as a strong competitor in the audiobook market, which challenges well-established platforms like Audible.
The changes in the policies allow the direct purchases that go beyond the audiobooks. Spotify’s iPhone App allows premium subscribers to buy more audiobook listening hours within the application and the business previously adopted the capability for iPhone users to subscribe outside the Spotify’s iPhone App store.
These recent developments show a potential victory for Spotify in the continuous efforts to lessen anti-competitive practices by Apple. It also offers a more seamless experience for the consumers who can now find and buy audiobook content in a single place instead of switching between platforms.
Since the digital content landscape is continuously evolving, this change may have impact on how the content providers used to approach distribution on mobile devices. This also shapes the ties betwee the app developers, platform owners and customers.
Summing Up
In a nutshell, now you can directly purchase audiobooks through Spotify’s iPhone App which provides seamless experience to the users. For this, you need a premium subscription and access Spotify audiobooks. So if you are a fan of audiobooks, you can enjoy the new updates in the app store and buy audiobooks easily.
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