Apple quietly debuted an official Instagram account for the iBooks Store over the weekend and promoted several new releases, including the much-awaited stage script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Apart from this, Apple’s official Instagram account includes a mix of looping videos, still images and pulled quotes.
Apple gave no links to the iBooks Store
On Sunday, Apple not only did posts for the new Harry Potter Book but also for titles such as Ben Winters’ Underground Airlines and Emma Cline’s The Girls. It should be noted that not even a single post by Apple links directly to the iBooks Store. Rather, they include factoids and hashtags, for example, pointing to the fact that July 31 is the 51st birthday of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.
The iBooks store, which opened in 2010 with high publicity alongside the iPad, has since taken more of a backseat in terms of marketing to the App Store. The App Store has had a difficult time in competing against rival Amazon. The online retailing giant had a significant lead over the iPhone maker, offering its e-books across more platforms. In its attempts to beat Amazon, the iPhone maker was accused of price-fixing.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiers worldwide
The Harry Potter and the Cursed Child the most recent story in Rowling’s Harry Potter universe, has been released on Apple’s iBooks platform globally. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is referred to as the “the eighth story” and is a script of the play of the same name. Over the last few weeks, the play has been in previews at the Palace Theatre in London and now has made its official world premiere only recently.
The play is based on the original story by Rowling with help from writer Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany. It picks up the story of Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, 19 years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The plot not only focuses on the three friends but also their offspring and their own time at Hogwarts.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child became available in all markets on Apple’s iBooks store in all markets beginning July 31. Users can choose from Amazon, Kobo, Kindle, Google, Barnes & Noble Nook, iBooks, WHSmith (exclusively in the U.K.) as e-book options within the United Kingdom and the United States. The price of the eBook is $14.99, and the retail version of the book will cost $17.99.
