Skip to main content

How to listen to audiobooks on a Mac

A MacBook user wearing Apple AirPods Max headphones.
Apple

You don't have to use your phone to listen to audiobooks; you can do so on your Mac, too. Whether you want to listen to your favorite audiobooks on your MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini, or older Mac desktop, here are the best ways to listen to audiobooks on MacOS.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • A Mac system

Use the official Apple Books app

Apple separated iTunes into several individual apps with its MacOS Catalina update, one of which includes Apple Books. Any Mac version below 10.15 Catalina will require you to use iTunes to access audiobooks.

Step 1: Select the Books app on your Mac. Here, the default screen you’ll be greeted with is the library segment. An audiobooks section can be located in the sidebar below the regular non-audio book options. This is where you can store all of the audiobooks you’ve downloaded.

how to listen audiobooks on a mac 3 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Within your library of audiobooks, double-click an audiobook you wish to listen to. The audiobook player will thereafter emerge at the top of the window. You can also use the search bar on the top-right corner if you’re looking for a specific audiobook.

Step 3: To buy, download, or pre-order audiobooks, click the Audiobook Store category situated at the top of the window. From here, you can populate your library via several convenient options on the sidebar such as the categories and featured sections. To gain access to a specific audiobook, click the item’s price to purchase it. You can also listen to an excerpt if a Preview button is shown below the Buy option.

how to listen audiobooks on a mac 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Download audiobooks from Audible

If all your audiobooks are located on Audible, Apple allows you to download them from the website into the Books app.

Step 1: To import an audiobook from your Audible account into Apple Books, simply open the Books app, select the File tab from the menu bar, and click Add to Library. Find the audiobook file you downloaded onto your Mac, select it, and click Add. The audiobook you selected will now show up in the Audiobooks category within Apple Books.

how to listen audiobooks on a mac audiobookmac
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Before you can listen to an audiobook that you download from an Audible account, your Mac needs to be authorized on the website itself. Firstly, double-click an item downloaded from the Audible website on the Audiobooks tab via the sidebar of the Books app. Click Yes in the dialogue that pops up, sign in to Audible, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Had enough of listening? You can also read books on Kindle with your Mac.

Zak Islam
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Zak Islam was a freelance writer at Digital Trends covering the latest news in the technology world, particularly the…
The M3 MacBook Air is gone for good — but the M2 is a survivor worth considering
The screen of the MacBook Air on a table.

With the introduction of the new M4 MacBook Air, it's time to say goodbye to some of the older models. This time, both the M3 and the M2 MacBook Air will disappear from Apple Store shelves. Unlike the M3, however, the M2 isn't being discontinued completely -- it will still be available at certain retailers.

This gives people a chance to get an amazing laptop (the laptop I'm writing on right now) at a really good price. TechRadar has already spotted certain M2 MacBook Air configurations on Amazon selling for as low as $699. That's 30% off MSRP and 30% less than the new M4 model.

Read more
M3 Ultra vs. M4 Max: Which is better? Benchmarks can’t tell either
2025 Mac Studio

Apple surprised us with its announcement of the new Mac Studio this week, and confused us with its chip choices -- the M4 Max and the M3 Ultra. It's hard enough to tell which chip is more powerful just from their names, but according to early benchmarks, it's also hard to tell from their CPU performance.

https://x.com/VadimYuryev/status/1897849477706481701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1897849477706481701%7Ctwgr%5E8073e41e643559d3c995c3a698fc2b5523a61222%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F9to5mac.com%2F2025%2F03%2F06%2Fm3-ultra-m4-max-chip-benchmark%2F

Read more
The new Mac Studio absolutely baffles me in one key way
Apple Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips and two Apple Studio Display monitors.

Way back when Steve Jobs returned to Apple and saved it from bankruptcy, he implemented his famous product quadrant: Apple should have desktops and laptops for consumers and professionals. These four categories should contain just one of the best Macs each -- no more, no less.

The idea was that you should be able to instantly differentiate each device and know who it’s for and what it does, and it worked incredibly effectively. Yet when I look at the new Mac Studio that Apple unveiled today, I get the feeling that Steve Jobs would be most displeased.

Read more