Audiobooks discussion

Dear Friends,

the only thing I miss so much with the Audible iPhone app is the ability to jump 20 seconds back ON A LOCKED SCREEN. Is this some kind of Apple only function not allowed to other developers? This jump back button has Music app and Podcasts app. Without it, I always have to unlock my iPhone, usually open the Audible app and the jump button. The simple rewind button doesn't do the trick so well as jumping. Anyone know anything more specific to that? It forces me to switch back to Music app and loose those nice statistics and badges Audible is playing on me.

Lukas

I listen through Overdrive and OneClickDigital (free downloads from my library) on my Android phone and I also have the feature that allows me to jump back from the lock screen. I can adjust how far I want to jump, 15 or 30 seconds.

i would love it if the audible app had this feature. maybe post a suggestion in the audible "other issues" thread here? audible monitors that thread for suggestions.

Thank you @Joel, I just posted this link to Audible forum.

Thank you @Elvira, but I am gladly sold to the Apple ecosystem. If lock screen jumps won't be possible through the Audible app ASAP I'm replacing my two books per month subscription with Audible back to iTunes audiobooks. No matter whose problem it is. I am that simple. :)

I don't believe the jump feature on the locked screen is just for Android. It is a feature of the app. Overdrive offers it.
Overdrive is an app that lets you download sound files from your library to your device. It is available for Android and for Apple devices, as is OnceClickdigital

Dear @Elvira, thanks for your point on jump feature. I really appreciate it and hope Audible will respond. I already tweeted to them:

https://twitter.com/fronk/statuses/38...

Overdrive sounds promissing. Downloaded the app but there are local libraries only. Right? I do not see a bridge to play books on my iPhone.

Well, your local library and all those your library associates with.
After downloading the app, you have to add your library, enter your library card number and start browsing, add to wish list, place holds, and download. If you play a bit with the app you'll see all the features.

You won't find as many books as audible has, but then again, Overdrive and OnceClickDigital are free. They will remain in your phone for the borrowing period and will be returned automatically.

I hope it works for you and you enjoy it as much as I do!

Lukas wrote: "Dear Friends,

the only thing I miss so much with the Audible iPhone app is the ability to jump 20 seconds back ON A LOCKED SCREEN. Is this some kind of Apple only function not allowed to other de..."

Hey Lukas,

Thank you for your feedback! You are correct, this feature is currently only available during playback with the native players on Apple device.

With that said, we have passed your suggestion to have a Jump-Back button from the iPhone lock-screen while listening on the Audible app onto the proper department to be evaluated. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to contact [email protected].

If you have any other questions, please email us at [email protected].

Happy Listening!

I wholeheartedly agree with this suggestion. I have my phone set so it doesn't lock while audible is open so I can access the rewind button - I hate missing anything and so I rewind all the time - but this drains my battery...

Additionally, there used to be a forward button as well which I miss terribly.

Kimberly wrote: "I wholeheartedly agree with this suggestion. I have my phone set so it doesn't lock while audible is open so I can access the rewind button - I hate missing anything and so I rewind all the time -..."

Oh yes! I also miss the jump forward button!

I have found the Overdrive app to be a great experience while listening on my iPhone to books I borrowed from my local library. If anything it was less trouble because the book, which was 11 segments long and would have been two parts on audible, came in one part on Overdrive and therefore ~all~ of the chapters were numbered sequentially rather than having part two start back numbering with chapter one which drives me a bit batty on the audible app.

Ann wrote: "I have found the Overdrive app to be a great experience while listening on my iPhone to books I borrowed from my local library. If anything it was less trouble because the book, which was 11 segmen..."

Hey Ann,

We're happy your audiobook experience has been great with Overdrive.

Did you know that you can download your Audible title in one-single part, rather than in multiple parts?

To download in one-single part, go to your Library on Audible and change your Audio Quality to "e". Alternatively, you can download in multiple parts when your audio quality is set to "4".

We hope this helps! Happy listening!

I didn't know that! I'll change it now! Thanks!!! And I should have mentioned I love my audible listening experience too, now it will be even better!

Audible.com wrote: "To download in one-single part, go to your Library on Audible and change your Audio Quality to "e". Alternatively, you can download in multiple parts when your audio quality is set to "4". "

I use an Ipod Classic. Would changing Audio Quality from whatever I now have to "e" make it worse? How much? Because the chapter number reset on 2nd and 3rd parts of a story does truly drive me batty.

Margaret wrote: "I use an Ipod Classic. Would changing Audio Quality from whatever I now have to "e" make it worse? How much? Because the chapter number reset on 2nd and 3rd parts of a story does truly drive me..."

I don't know about the quality, but the "e" format are bigger files. I do agree about the chapter numbering - very frustrating.

i have my quality set on "e" and i still have to download in chunks on the iOS app.

I'll have to experiment with downloading both a format 4 and Enhanced E audio book and see about the size difference. I haven't been downloading to my PC lately as it is so easy to get them from the cloud, but based on the loss of my Overdrive SYNC audio books with the last iOS upgrade, I should probably be downloading all of them anyway.

How do you find the "Library" on the Audible App?

Isn't it the little icon on the left at the bottom which looks like a few books? It's labelled My Library on mine.

Not seeing that on my IPhone. Sorry.

if you have the app open (make sure it is the newest version) there should be a black taskbar on the bottom with "my library" "more books" "news" and "me".

if you are already playing a book you have to hit the back arrow in the top left corner first.

OK, I finally found the library (I did have a book open) but now can't find Audio Quality. Sorry to be a pest.

That isn't an option in the app. Only on the website.

Thanks.

Anita wrote: "OK, I finally found the library (I did have a book open) but now can't find Audio Quality. Sorry to be a pest."

Hey Anita,

On the Audible for iPhone app, you can change the download quality between Standard (mp3 quality) and High (CD quality).

To do this, from the My Library section of the app click on the settings button on the top-left (looks like a gear). Then, scroll down and tap on where it says "Download Quality".

If you have any additional questions or experience and issues, please email us at [email protected].

Happy Listening!

i stand corrected!

Thanks. I saw that but was unsure that was what everyone was talking about because I didn't see an "e" setting.

Anita wrote: "Thanks. I saw that but was unsure that was what everyone was talking about because I didn't see an "e" setting."

ok, THAT part you can only do through the website. there is a dropdown menu in the library and you can choose format 2, 3, 4 or "enhanced."

note that for me, despite info posted here, my titles still download in multiple parts even though the quality is set at "enhanced."

Thanks.

Thanks, Joel. I'll probably stick with my current format then to save the space on my phone, e format books are a lot larger size as I recall.
Joel wrote: "..note that for me, despite info posted here, my titles still download in multiple parts even though the quality is set at "enhanced.""

Audible.com wrote: "... With that said, we have passed your suggestion to have a Jump-Back button from the iPhone lock-screen while listening on the Audible app onto the proper department to be evaluated. ... "

Dear Audible, I would echo the suggestions made here to add both a jump-back button and a jump-forward button on the iPhone lock screen. This feature would be a game-changer for the Audible app and would mean that Audible was my strong preference over iTunes for audiobooks.

Please could you confirm that this feature will be in the next release of the app? And is there an ETA?

Many thanks.

Richard wrote: "Audible.com wrote: "... With that said, we have passed your suggestion to have a Jump-Back button from the iPhone lock-screen while listening on the Audible app onto the proper department to be eva..."

Hey Richard,

We will definitely forward your suggestion to have a jump-back/forward button added to the iPhone lock screen. Unfortunately, our new app update (yesterday) did not include this feature, but the following has been added to the iOS app:

-50 MB cellular download limit has been removed.
-Refresh button is now available on the main My Library screen.
-Adjustments to the Whispersync for Voice sync process.
-Improvements to the Mark as Finished and sort by recency features.
-Other bug fixes and improvements.

Thanks for your suggestion. Hopefully, it will be added in the future.

what were the improvements to "mark as finished"?

Joel wrote: "what were the improvements to "mark as finished"?"

Hey Joel,

Basically, we improved this feature's functionality. Some users would lose the Mark as Finished banner when they logged out and in. Now, that issue should not occur.

Great! I was having that issue.

Hmm. Well it seems the app still erases data for finished books if you sign out and sign in with a different account. So my issue remains.

Joel wrote: "Hmm. Well it seems the app still erases data for finished books if you sign out and sign in with a different account. So my issue remains."

Hey Joel,

Sorry to hear that! Please give us a call at 888-283-5051 and we'll be happy to help you with this issue.

I tried that but the rep I spoke to didn't seem to understand the issue. she suggested I send a bug report through the app, which I did. thanks.

That was the best thing to do. In addition to your bug report, we have also reported that this issue is till occurring. Hopefully our mobile app team will fix this for good.

Thanks for understanding! Have a nice weekend!