Amazon has announced the next generation of its flagship Kindle. But knowing that a lot of people do their reading on their smartphones, the company has also redesigned its Kindle app for both Android and iOS.
The redesign is mostly cosmetic. However, it also puts a more importance to usability. For example, a light theme is to better replicate physical reading experience with a bit of a parchment look with some ornate flourishes around the borders.
To complete the looks, the redesign also boasts larger book covers and Amazon's custom Bookerly fonts.
The redesign also puts a more persistent on search. Integrated more heavily into the app, the search feature can be accessible from virtually any screen. The focus here is to allow users to search their library or find new books at any time.
The book that users are reading also gets its own permanent button on a navigation bar. This "one-tap access” feature floats the current book users are reading at the bottom of the app in a miniaturized rectangle that follows them around the app.
What this means, users can always return to the book they're reading from anywhere in the app without having to do the tedious process of navigating the menus like Kindle's previous iteration.
Another big change is Kindle in putting a larger emphasis on social. With the redesign, the app directly integrates reviews and community features from Goodreads, a social network for readers with 65 million users which Amazon acquired back in 2013.
Users can highlight a portion of a book they are currently reading using the app, for example, and directly share it to Goodreads. They can also check what their friends are reading by heading to the community tab. Here, users can chat with others, or see suggestions on who to follow.
The Kindle app also redesigned the notification center to also contain customizable notifications from users' Goodreads account, including notes and highlights.
"For as long as there have been books, people have discussed them with friends," said Otis Chandler, CEO and co-founder of Goodreads. "When you finish an amazing book, you can’t wait to find out if other readers feel the same way. Readers trust their friends for recommendations, with around half of them saying they discover books through word-of-mouth. With the new features on Kindle, connecting with your friends and similar readers in the Goodreads community is now built into the app."
And to further highlight this major redesign, Amazon also gave Kindle a redesigned icon that doesn't say "Kindle" anymore. The icon only has the brand's signature “Tree Kid” silhouette with a flatter look that puts it better with other modern app design icons and logos.