The following table lists the previously-released specifications and the revisions:
Date/Version | Summary |
|---|---|
September 2023 - Version 5.3 | Updates for the EPUB 3.3 specification. |
April 10, 2022 - Version 5.2.14 | Updated the interior book image requirements and the method to create direct links to books. |
December 12, 2022 - Version 5.2.13 | Added information about using custom text colors with dark themes. |
April 5, 2021 - Version 5.2.12 | Added support for vertical scrolling. Added new screenshot sizes. |
October 28, 2019 - Version 5.2.11 | Video files can be delivered in HEVC in an MPEG-4 container. |
June 24, 2019 - Version 5.2.10 | Added font recommendations for fixed-layout books. Added best practices for media overlays in Read Aloud books. |
October 8, 2018 - Version 5.2.9 | Added recommendations for fonts and audio. Changed the branding of iBooks to Apple Books where appropriate. |
April 12, 2017 - Version 5.2.8 | Fixed code examples that included extra characters. |
November 16, 2016 - Version 5.2.7 | Clarified media-type format for SMIL files. Clarified fixed-layout books. Added screenshot sizes for iPad Pro. |
July 21, 2016 - Version 5.2.6 | Corrections to font sizing. Minor changes. |
May 17, 2016 - Version 5.2.5 | Added font guidelines. Clarified text alignment and footnotes. Corrections to font sizing and interior images. |
February 16, 2016 - Version 5.2.4 | Deprecated orientation and binding tags in fixed-layout books. Added guidelines for Gaiji images and embedded audio. |
July 9, 2015 - Version 5.2.3 | Changed interior book image requirements. |
October 22, 2014 - Version 5.2.2 | Added iBooks link format. Described the new book proofing tool. Clarified MathML. |
September 18, 2014 - Version 5.2.1 | Changed image sizing for flowing EPUB books. Clarified video posterframe art. Clarified links. Clarified delivering Chinese language codes. Changed the name for the fixed-layout book example to |
April 9, 2014 - Version 5.2 | Changes to image requirements and recommendations. Additions and changes to the available EPUB proofing tools. Changes to embedding audio or video. Changes to book versioning. Changed the version number of this specification from 5.1 Revision 2 to 5.2 to keep the version number in sync with the new schema version. |
August 13, 2013 - Version 5.1.2 | Added design considerations for books with JavaScript Interactivity. Identified the Japanese fonts available in iBooks. When creating a new version of a book, keep the same |
February 21, 2013 - Version 5.1.1 | Clarified image size, text direction, and versioning. Added support for Tatechuyoko. Added a layout property to hide the book binding in fixed-layout books. iBooks' fonts follow the font orientation guidelines of UTR 50 draft 6. Clarified that nonlinear documents are not supported for fixed-layout books. |
October 31, 2012 - Version 5.1 | Added information on support for EPUB 3. Added versioning. Added support for Gaiji. Made changes to Read Aloud books based on new EPUB 3 support. Changed how linking works. Changed ibook.js to ibooks.js (and iBook JS to iBooks JS) to reflect the updated name. Updated namespace throughout. Removed all sections relevant to EPUB 2; refer to the Apple Books Asset Guide 5.0 for EPUB 2. |
May 30, 2012 - Version 5.0 | Book marketing image requirements have changed. Removed TIFF from the list of recommended image formats. |
April 3, 2012 - Version 4.9 | Both flowing and fixed-layout books can have custom page numbers. Added a new chapter for Multi-Touch books. Added best practices for images and flowing books. Added asset requirements for screenshots. Clarified that Read Aloud books require a custom preview. |
December 8, 2011 - Version 4.8 | Reorganized and simplified the structure of the document and eliminated redundant sections. Renamed “standard EPUBS” to “flowing books” throughout the document. Clarified treatment of tables. Added best practices for fonts and fixed-layout books. Added a new section for books that contain interactive content. Inline CSS within HTML comments will be ignored. A PDF referenced in the |
July 13, 2011 - Version 4.7.4 | Added a chapter describing how to deliver read aloud content. Made several corrections throughout the document. |
June 16, 2011 - Version 4.7.3 | Removed documentation on features not supported in iBooks 1.3. |
June 1, 2011 - Version 4.7.2 | Clarified multimedia assets delivery requirements. |
March 1, 2011 - Version 4.7 | Added a link to an example use of |
February 9, 2011 - Version 4.6 | Removed size recommendations for full-bleed images. Images should not contain embedded text. |
December 21, 2010 - Version 4.5.1 | Added support for fixed-layout books (such as picture books, cookbooks, and art books). Added support for embedded fonts and for |
December 1, 2010 - Version 4.5 | First release of the standalone asset specification for books. This guide contains only the video and audio source formats for books; it does not list formats for music, film, and TV. An additional chapter describes best practices in preparing book content for iBooks. |