Apple officially unveiled its entrance into textbooks with the new “iBooks 2” app and “iBooks Author” e-book authoring tool. If you are wondering just how much the textbooks are going to cost you, Apple announced that initially high school textbooks through partners Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will be available through the new iBookstore textbooks category for $14.99 or less. Compare that figure to textbooks from publishers like McGraw Hill that can sell for as high as $75. Apple noted that the three partners announced today currently produce 90 percent of the textbooks available.
In terms of what will be available starting today, McGraw Hill released the following books currently used by over 3 million students worldwide: “Algebra 1,” “Biology,” “Chemistry,” “Geometry,” and “Physics.” Pearson will release “Algebra 1,” “Biology,” “Environmental Science,” and “Geometry” (only two available today), with math books to be released in the future. Pearson’s books are currently used by an estimated 4 millions students worldwide.
Apart from the three major textbook publishers, Apple will work with DK Publishing who is releasing four new books aimed at younger children on the iBookstore today. Those include: “Dinosaurs and Prehistoric life,” “Natural History Insects,” “Natural History Animals,” and “My First ABC.”
Check out our full coverage of Apple’s education event and additional assets:
