Some people still swear by dead
tree paper books despite the digital age. Others can’t live without the convenience
of carrying a whole library in a single slab of plastic. Still, others prefer
not to read words at all but still enjoy the “reading” experience with
audiobooks.
Earlier this year, Google added
that second method of digital reading to its Google Play Books app and service.
But it is only two months later that Google Play Books audiobooks actually
became worth using at all.
The latest update introduces a
feature that should have been present on day one. Actually, it’s a feature that
should be present on any audio app, be it audiobook player, podcast player, or
music player.
That is the ability to stop and
pick up exactly where you left off. Nothing is more frustrating than forgetting
where you were and having to scrub through minutes if not hours of audio.
Google being Google, the resume
feature is being called “Smart Resume”. That’s because it will actually rewind
to the start of a word or sentence when you resume you listening.
That’s to help give you a bit
more context and jog up your memory. The update also brings bookmarks, yet
another day one feature, to help you go back to important or memorable parts of
the book.
Google Assistant integration was
one of the key features Google boasted about when it launched the audiobook
feature. Now it has gotten more useful with the newly released Routines.
Simply add Google play Books to
your morning routine or work commute and you don’t have to worry about
remembering putting the audiobook on.
You can also speed up or slow
down playback after the latest update. The update also marks the expansion of
Google Play Books’ Family Library sharing feature to 13 additional countries,
including:
Belgium
Germany
Italy
Netherlands,
Norway
Poland
Russia
Spain
Switzerland
Chile
Mexico
Japan (audiobooks only) and
South Africa.
