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Google Play Store is now advertising its audiobook library in select countries using a straightforward banner that can be seen below and promises consumers a 50 percent discount on their first related purchase. The banner leads to a new marketplace category that still isn’t live but its premature appearance suggests the official launch of audiobooks on the Google Play Store is drawing near. The Alphabet-owned company has been working on implementing audiobooks into the service since at least fall, with first hints at the new offerings being discovered in early November following a teardown of one of the previous builds of the app.
The Mountain View, California-based tech giant has yet to comment on the inclusion of audiobooks to the Play Store’s portfolio in any capacity and it remains to be seen how the move will affect the audiobook selection that’s presently being hosted by Google Play Music. While Google’s music streaming service is technically part of the Play Store, i.e. largely powered by its framework, the company may opt to continue serving audiobooks through both platforms or discontinue its first attempt at selling them. It’s currently unclear what library size can users expect from the Play Store’s new audiobook library but its portfolio is likely to be at least somewhat larger than what’s currently on offer through Google Play Music. The banner advertising the promotional 50 percent discount has so far been sighted in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, according to user reports, with multiple owners of Android devices claiming they’ve seen it both in the Google Play Store app and the desktop browser version of the digital marketplace.
Once it’s live, the audiobook section of the online store should be accessible by referring to the banner below. As this doesn’t appear to be a global rollout, some users may be greeted with an “unavailable in your country” message once they attempt to access the page. Google will presumably officially announce the launch of the Play Store-powered audiobook delivery service in the coming days. The move will position the Play Store as a direct competitor to Amazon’s Audible, currently one of the most popular audiobook solutions in the mobile industry.
