Apple Books+ could change the game for Apple's subscription bundle

[iMore.com]

Rumors have begun about a subscription service for Apple Books. It's honestly surprising that it isn't already here.

Full story from the iMore Blog...

 

[Up_And_Away]

"The service, which would probably be called Apple Books+ (because I mean why wouldn't it), is honestly surprising that it doesn't already exist."

I believe the reason AppleBooks+ doesn't exist is the interesting history of e books. Apple was VERY much a part of the e book landscape. Then Amazon came onto the scene looking to provide bargain basement pricing (some authors and publishers very unhappy that they would also be squeezed to make Kindle cheap). Some group (don't remember the name) sued Apple claiming they attempted to fix the e book market (it was reported Steve Jobs said to a publisher 'we will not allow Amazon to corner the market and make pricing cheap'). The judgment went against Apple. Steve Jobs vehemently disagreed but the judge was the final word obviously. A special master was appointed by the judge to actually set up shop at Apple to keep Apple's action regarding e books under surveillance. Reports suggest Apple very much thought the special master was not keeping Apple under review but was looking to persecuting Apple. Reports then suggest Apple came to a 'screw you' moment (pardon the phrasing) and largely dropped their larger part in the e books market. Yes, they'd still offer e books but they took attention away from it (here's an e book, buy it if you want it. we don't really care)'. Of course the result of the judge and special master was to hand the e book market to the already surging Amazon/Kindle. Amazon/Kindle would come to dominate the market while corralling authors and publishers. It made Kindle good but made anyone else trying to compete a very difficult endeavor (good intentions or not, this was a result of the judge and special master).
Fyi, this is all recollection. Apologies if the details aren't precise but that is the gist of the story. I'm an avid reader and have used Kindle unlimited for years. But I have always wanted Apple to offer an Apple version of Kindle unlimited (I do still read on the AppleBooks app and prefer it to the Kindle on IpadOS app). So if Apple puts books+ into an AppleOne bundle? For me who already uses Apple Music, Icloud+ and AppleTV+, a bundle including books would be excellent.

 

[Wotchered]

I would be mildly interested in Apple Books, If, it was competitive,and, Apple completely re-worked their site to make it user friendly.
Apple missed the boat through sheer greed and may never catch up, and its library was comparatively small,so there is room for improvement. If I remember correctly Amazon started off as s bookseller years before Apple books came into being, and to come into the market whining that you were not allowed to establish a higher tariff because you want to was petulant at the least !