Audible brings local audiobook playback to Apple Watch alongside watchOS 5

Audible's mobile app was updated this week to support watchOS 5, and in the process gained the ability to listen to complete audiobooks without a nearby iPhone.

Books must first be synced through the Audible iPhone app, but playback then shifts fully to the Apple Watch. On top of standard media controls, playback options include speed, a sleep timer, and a chapter list.

Users can also browse all of the titles saved on a Watch, and delete ones that are finished or taking up space.

Support for caching audiobooks and podcasts was one of the most anticipated upgrades in watchOS 5, released on Monday. The Watch has supported music sync for some time, but until this week even Apple's own Podcasts app wouldn't sync episodes from an iPhone. This was a particular problem for fitness enthusiasts, who often listen to podcasts during running and lifting sessions.

The Audible app is a free download, and requires an iPhone with iOS 10 or later. Its accompanying service, however, costs $14.95 per month after a 30-day trial. Note that no active subscription is required to listen to books already acquired via Audible.

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11 Comments

rdevillers

said about 5 years ago

Does syncing require that the Watch be on the charger as is the case with the Apple Podcast app? That makes the Podcast app much less useful. I get that syncing probably takes a lot of juice but having to take the Watch off to initiate syncing is frustrating.

The newest version of Overcast syncs podcasts while the Watch is not charging although it is slower than if it were charging. That allows automatic syncing to occur and you can keep the Watch on while it is syncing.

crawdad62

said about 5 years ago

The Podcast and audiobook stand alone playback is the whole reason I was going to buy the Series 4 and finally retire the Series 0 I've had. However after seeing the Keynote I absolutely would've upgraded even if my Series 0 could update to WatchOS 5.

slprescott

said about 5 years ago

Overdrive, please start supporting Apple Watch too so that I can listen to audiobooks (for free, from my local library) stored locally on my Watch.

Soli

said about 5 years ago

This is great and because of it I may sign up, but I’m still hoping for Spotify and SiriusXM to also arrive shortly.

tlcastle

said about 5 years ago

I promptly uninstalled it from my watch. After installation, when listening to Audible from my phone, it would bring up the audible app on my watch instead of the Now Playing screen even though nothing was synced to my watch yet, it was intrusive and persistent. Although this is an Apple Watch app I've eagerly been awaiting I'll wait for another iteration to reinstall...