Apple releases 2023 top charts for Podcasts, Apple Books

Apple has revealed the top books and podcasts users of Apple Books and the Apple Podcasts apps have consumed, as part of its introduction of charts covering all of 2023.

Published on Tuesday, Apple has updated listings in the Apple Books and Apple Podcasts apps to display year-end charts for 2023. The charts cover the thousands of books and podcasts read or listened to by users on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and for podcasts, Apple Watch.

For Podcasts, the year-end charts include localized results for almost 100 countries and regions. Shown in the Browse tab in the Podcasts app, users can see the top podcasts overall, the top new shows that started during the year, the most-followed shows, most-shared shows and episodes, and the top free and subscriber channels.

There are more elements to explore for users in over 15 markets, with Shows We Love being a curated selection of "standout narrative and episodic series that resonated with listeners," writes Apple.

Furthermore, Apple Podcasts will be revealing the Show of the Year on December 5.

For the U.S., the top show is "Crime Junkie," with "Scamanda" being the top new show and the most shared, and "Huberman Lab" the most-followed.

From sound to print

Over on Apple Books, its own Year in Review is an in-app experience that shows users highlights about books and audiobooks consumed during 2023. It is available under the Read Now tab under Top Pics in the iPhone and iPad app, for users who have marked at least three titles as finished.

Users can set a book as finished by holding onto a title then selecting Mark As Finished, with a further option to edit the finished date if needed. For books read in other formats, such as physical versions, users can search Apple Books for digital versions and mark them as Finished too.

As part of the Year in Review, the app will use "anonymized reader insights" to determine the reading type for the user. There are six types in total, including "The Completist" for readers of book series, "The Seeker" for non-fiction readers, and "The Deep Driver" for single-genre readers.

An overview of the user's Year in Books is also provided at the end, including how many books are read, the total minutes spent reading, and a grid of book covers.

Just as with podcasts, Apple Books has published lists of top books and audiobooks from 2023, with "Spare" by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex at the top of Nonfiction Books, and Rebecca Yarros' "Fourth Wing" leading Fiction.

Likewise, there is the Best of 2023 section, a curated collection of standout books and audiobooks from a variety of genres.