Google Play Books gets reader entitlement. Apple device owners that use Google Play Books to manage ebooks can now make purchases via a "Get book" link that takes them to the Google Play store to make a purchase. It isn't possible for any app to link out to external websites, but there is an exception developers can apply for thanks to a 2021 lawsuit. Google waited a few years, but it has finally implemented the feature for Google Play Books.
Google explained the update via a blog post, first shared by TechCrunch. It mentions the new outgoing link and a purchase sharing system that works across devices in a family. Every book and audiobook in the Google Play Books app will now have a "Get book" or "Get audiobook" link. Tapping on that link will show a warning that the user is leaving the app to go to a website that isn't controlled by Apple.
The website is simply the Google Play Store. There, users can log in to their Google account and purchase the book using the payment method on that account. Once the purchase is complete, the book appears in the Google Play Books app. The process avoids using Apple's in-app purchase system, so Google doesn't have to give Apple its usual 30% or 15% commission. This is possible because Google Play Books has been designated a reader app via an entitlement. Google had to apply for the entitlement and has been able to since 2022, but it isn't clear why it waited until 2025.
Google also clarified that the Google Play Family Library works via this method. So, purchases made within the family group will appear on any device for any user within that group, even Apple ones. Like Netflix and other apps with the reader status, it's good for customers to be able to see links out to manage their accounts instead of having no way to understand where to make a purchase or sign up for an account. Apple's previous rules ensured it controlled payment methods to get a cut of every purchase, but it resulted in user-hostile UI.
While reader apps and external links are more awkward than just having a store within the app, it is at least better than no external links or alternative payment options at all. More ebook competition on iPhone is great, and it begs the question of whether Apple will ever bring Apple Books to the Google Play Store. Apple TV recently launched on Android smartphones, so the company isn't afraid of spreading its services out.
Perhaps this move from Google will spur more competition from Apple and other ebook providers. Or, at the least, encourage other apps to apply for the reader entitlement. Wesley Hilliard served ten years as a Nuclear Power Electrician in the US Navy, then jumped careers in 2019. Today, he is Assistant Editor, Podcast Cohost, SEO Specialist, and Social Media Manager for AppleInsider. The Humane AI Pin company is being shut down and its much-vaunted, badly-received device is being switched off. It could have been so much better.
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