Listen to audiobooks in Books on iPhone

Use the Books app to listen to audiobooks on your iPhone.

The audiobook player screen showing the audiobook cover in the top center. Below the cover are the track number, audiobook name, and author. Below the audiobook name is the playhead, and below that are the play, pause, and skip back and skip forward controls. Below the player controls is the volume control slider. At the bottom of the screen, from left to right, are the Playback Speed button, Sleep Timer button, Playback Destination button, and Track List button. The Library button is at the top-left corner.

Play an audiobook

In Reading Now or in the Audiobooks collection in your Library, tap the audiobook cover, then do any of the following:

Skip forward or back: Touch and hold the rounded arrows, or slide and hold the book cover. To change the number of seconds that skipping advances, go to Settings > Books.
Speed it up, or slow it down: Tap the playback speed in the lower-left corner to choose a different speed. 1x is normal speed, 0.75x is three-quarters speed, and so on.
Set a sleep timer: Tap , then choose a duration.
Go to a chapter: Tap , then tap a chapter.
Note: Some audiobooks refer to chapters as tracks, or don’t define chapters.
Go to a specific time: Drag the playhead, directly below the audiobook cover. The point where you started listening is marked with a gray circle on the timeline. Tap the circle to jump back to that spot.

If a Wi-Fi connection to the Internet isn’t available, audiobooks play over your carrier’s cellular network, which may result in additional fees. Audiobooks over 200 MB can’t be played over cellular (iOS 13.3 or earlier). To manage cellular data usage, see View or change cellular settings on iPhone.

Helpful?