Book Formats
Book files, also known as book assets, contain your work, including text, images, interactivity, and so forth. Apple accepts two different types of book files: EPUBs and Multi-Touch books.
EPUB files
An EPUB (.epub) file is a universal ebook standard. While it helps to have some technical know-how when working with EPUBs, there are a number of tools available to create and deliver book files in the EPUB format to Apple Books. You can create EPUB files with Pages or other third-party tools, or work with an Apple-preferred partner who can help you get your books on Apple Books.
Multi-Touch books
Created in iBooks Author and specifically designed for Apple devices, Multi-Touch books (.ibooks) provide numerous possibilities to interact with the reader through photo galleries, videos, interactive diagrams, 3D objects, quizzes, and more. Multi-Touch books are designed to create immersive and memorable experiences with textbooks, cookbooks, history books, and picture books in ways not possible in print texts.
Note: Book creation is moving to Pages. As of July 1, 2020, iBooks Author will no longer be available to new users. iBooks Author can still be used on macOS 10.15 and earlier, but there will be no new updates. Learn more.
Best practices for creating an ebook
However you choose to create your ebook, avoid common mistakes by following these best practices:
- Keep your files small. The larger the file, the longer it takes to download. Keep your file size as small as possible without reducing its quality or interactivity. Ideally, books should be under 1GB, but we allow up to 2GB on Apple Books. Books created and delivered via Pages must be under 1GB. You can check file size using Finder on your Mac or Windows Explorer on your PC.
- Be mindful of image resolution. While the external cover art file should have the highest resolution possible, images inside your asset files shouldn't be more than 4 million pixels. Tip: Multiply an image's height by its width to see its total pixel count.
- Make your books accessible. If your book contains images, widgets, or diagrams, include accessibility descriptions for VoiceOver users.