Apple has rolled back the much-hyped change to its iBooks app in the fourth iOS 11.3 beta, seeming to indicate the update isn’t quite ready for a broader release. The app was renamed from iBooks to Books in the first iOS 11.3 developer beta and remained that way through the third beta release, but as of yesterday’s fourth betas of iOS and macOS it has reverted back to iBooks.
Reports from January claimed the updated app will eventually include a simpler user interface, redesigned digital bookstore, a new section called “Reading Now,” and a dedicated tab for audiobooks. Some references to those features were unearthed in the early iOS 11.3 betas only to disappear in this most recent one.
Several minor but noticeable problems cropped up in the beta 3 version of the Books app, including sorting issues with recently read books not appearing at the top, intermittent problems opening ePub books and PDFs that weren’t from the iBooks Store, and problems opening recent iBooks from the 3D Touch menu, so it’s possible we won’t see the final public release of the new Books app until iOS 12 this fall. The reverted iBooks app seems to be functioning normally again, but doesn’t include the new features.
