Google Play Audiobooks Bakes Assistant Into Amazon Rival
Google has added audiobooks to Google Play, offering cross-platform playback and voice control with the Google Assistant. Launching in 45 countries from today, the Google Play audiobooks will support nine different languages. Users with Android and iOS devices will be able to access them, though that's not all.
In addition, it'll be possible to play the audiobooks through the browser, using the Google Play Books site. If you've got a Google Home or another device with Google Assistant support – such as Lenovo's upcoming Smart Display – they'll be able to play them as well. On those devices there'll be voice control too.
For instance, saying "Ok Google, read my book" will automatically start playback of the current audiobook you're listening to. There'll be support for other commands as well, like "Ok Google, who is the author?" to get a background on who wrote the original book. If you tend to get caught up listening and lose track of time, there'll be timed playback support as well. "Ok Google, stop playing in 30 minutes," will have the Assistant do just that.
Google Assistant integration will initially only be available on Android smartphones and smart speakers like the Google Home, and only when set to English. However, the company says it'll be coming to Android Auto in the US soon. That'll be particularly useful with the cross-device playback, since you'l be able to pause on one device and pickup on another seamlessly.
It doesn't exactly come as a huge surprise, mind. A premature update to the Google Play store just a few days ago previewed the arrival of audiobooks, though Google quickly pulled the feature before it went live. At the time, of course, the big questions were around how Google's offer would hold up to the big players in the market like Amazon-owned Audible.
Audiobooks will be offered individually through the Google Play store, and there'll be previews available just to make sure you don't hate the way the narrator sounds. Family Library support will be included as standard, regardless of what device or platform they're using. There, you'll be able to share an audiobook purchase between up to five family members.
As for pricing, audiobooks kick off from under $10. "Ready Player One," for instance, is currently $6.99, while Michael Wolff's controversial "Fire and Fury" is $8.99. Google is running a launch promotion, too, offering 50-percent off your first audiobook purchase.