Where to Listen: Apps and Devices

Prefer to listen? Narrated by Daniel Henning.

Part of our Audiobooks 101 guide.

Mostly you listen through an app, on a device you probably already own. Here’s where audiobooks play, and which app goes with which.

On your phone or tablet

• The most common way to listen. You install an app and play from there.
• Download before you go. A downloaded book needs no signal, which matters on a plane, a subway, or anywhere the bars drop out.
• Both iPhone and Android have plenty of choices.

On your computer

• Most services have a web player, so you can listen in a browser tab without installing anything.
• Useful while you work, if that’s where you spend your time.

In your car

• Through your phone, using Bluetooth or a cable.
• CarPlay and Android Auto put the controls on the dashboard. Library apps work here too, so a borrowed book behaves exactly like a bought one.

On a smart speaker

• Ask it to play, if your speaker links to your audiobook app.
• Handy at home, for listening while you cook or clean.

In a podcast app

• Some audiobooks are published as podcast feeds, chapter by chapter, so the app already on your phone will play them.
• We don’t draw a hard line between the two. It’s all audio storytelling, and if someone is reading you a story, it counts.

On a CD player

• Plenty of libraries still lend audiobooks on CD, so a player in the car or on a shelf still works.
• Some libraries carry Playaways, small players that come loaded with a single book. Add headphones and press play. No disc drive, no phone.
• Worth a look if you prefer something physical, or if the title you want is on a shelf rather than in an app. How to Listen to Audiobooks for Free explains why that happens.

Which app

The app follows from where you get your books, not the other way round.

• Borrowing from the library. Libby is the most common. Some library systems use Hoopla or cloudLibrary instead, or alongside it. All free with a card.
• Buying. Audible and Libro.fm both have apps for iPhone, Android, and the web.
• Public domain. LibriVox files carry no copy protection, so they play in whatever you already use, including a plain music app.

Most people end up with two: one for borrowing and one for buying. That’s normal, and it’s cheaper overall than picking one and paying for everything.

The bottom line

Pick a device you already use, install the app that matches how you get your books, and download titles before you leave the house. Any phone can be an audiobook player.

Happy listening!

More basics in Audiobooks 101. Borrowing for free is covered in How to Listen to Audiobooks for Free.