MagicReader vs MynaBooks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
MagicReader
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Read without touching the screen. MagicReader is a hands-free reader for EPUB, PDF and comics: turn your head, wave a hand, wink, or just say "next page" ā and the page turns. Or sit back and let a natural voice read to you. Whether your hands are busy, wet, full, or simply resting ā or touching the screen is difficult for you ā MagicReader keeps the story going. NEW: OPENS LIKE A REAL BOOK ⢠Ready for iPhone Duo ā unfold it and your book becomes a two-page spread, with the spine right on the fold ⢠Landscape reading ā two pages side by side on iPad and most iPhones, for EPUB, PDF and comics, including vertical Japanese books ⢠Flip page turns ā pages turn over like paper and follow your finger ⢠Split View on iPad and iPhone Duo TOUCH-FREE READING ⢠Head control ā turn your head left or right to flip pages; look up to open or close a book ⢠Wink control ā wink your right eye to go forward, your left to go back (Face ID devices) ⢠Hand control ā a cursor follows your hand; close your hand to grab a book, swipe from the screen edge to flip ⢠Voice control ā say "next", "back", "open", "read aloud" and more, in English, Japanese, Spanish, French or German ⢠A guided tour teaches every gesture with live practice NATURAL READ-ALOUD ⢠Natural, expressive voices read your EPUB books aloud ā in English and Japanese ⢠The sentence being spoken is highlighted, and pages turn in step with the narration ⢠English narration powered by Kokoro; Japanese voices powered by VOICEVOX (VOICEVOX:No.7, VOICEVOX:åå½ććć, VOICEVOX:éå±±é¾ę, VOICEVOX Nemo) ⢠Books in Spanish, French and German are read by your device's system voice for that language, with nothing to download ⢠Natural voices are downloaded once, then work fully offline ā all speech is generated on your device YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY ⢠EPUB and PDF books, plus CBZ/CBR comics and manga ⢠Beautiful animated bookshelf themes ā drifting watercolour clouds, a starry cosmos, and story worlds that come alive behind special books ⢠Japanese vertical text (ēø¦ęøć) done right, with optional automatic furigana (ćµćććŖ) above kanji ⢠Comfortable reading themes, adjustable fonts (including OpenDyslexic for dyslexia-friendly reading), and remembered positions THOUSANDS OF FREE CLASSICS ⢠Browse and download public-domain classics from Project Gutenberg and Aozora Bunko (é空ęåŗ«) ā from Alice in Wonderland to éę²³ééć®å¤ ā right inside the app PRIVATE BY DESIGN ⢠The camera and microphone are used only to recognize your gestures and commands, entirely on your device ⢠Nothing is recorded, nothing is uploaded, and there are no accounts, no ads, and no tracking ā ever MagicReader began in 2012 as one of the first face-controlled book readers on the App Store. It has been rebuilt from the ground up for today's devices ā same magic, new tricks. Reading is best when nothing comes between you and the story. Not even your hands.
MynaBooks
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MynaBooks is an audiobook player built for someone who has lost their eyesight ā not adapted for them. Most audiobook apps are built for people who can see ā screens full of menus and buttons to find. Someone who has lost their eyesight is expected to learn VoiceOver just to use one. MynaBooks doesn't need that. Press and Hold a finger anywhere on the screen, name a book or say a command like "next chapter," and let go. Nothing has to be aimed at, tapped precisely, or seen. WHAT YOU CAN SAY "Play Aesop's Fables" Ā· "Next chapter" Ā· "Go back" Ā· "Change shelf to Literature" Ā· "Faster" Ā· "Slower" Ā· "What's playing?" ā MynaBooks answers by speaking back, not by putting more on a screen no one is looking at. BUILT FOR A CAREGIVER TO SET UP ā AND ADD TO OVER TIME A family member sets up the listener's books once ā using the iPhone's own Files app for their own recordings and cloud files, or choosing straight from the free libraries built into MynaBooks ā and can keep adding new ones anytime the listener wants something new. WHERE THE BOOKS COME FROM - Recordings a family member made, or files copied in from Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or anywhere else ā copied onto the phone once, not kept in sync - A shared iCloud folder, instead, that does stay in sync ā new recordings show up on their own - LibriVox ā over 20,000 free, public-domain audiobooks read by volunteers - Project Gutenberg ā over 75,000 free ebooks MynaBooks reads aloud itself - Any PDF, read aloud on the spot EVERYTHING IS VISIBLE TO A CAREGIVER Every command and every reply is kept in plain language ā what was said, what MynaBooks heard, what it played ā so a caregiver can see exactly what happened. Settings can be locked behind a passcode so the listener's shelves stay put. The listener cannot accidentally change them. ACCESSIBILITY MynaBooks supports Larger Text and Dark Interface. It does not require VoiceOver ā that is the whole point. It is a different kind of accessible: built to work by ear from the very first launch, with nothing to learn first. Free to set up. Your books, read the way you already talk.
Screenshots
Verdict
MagicReader and MynaBooks are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters ā price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them ā neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | MagicReader | MynaBooks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Monthly | ā |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad ā better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 ā better | 18.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 62 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Leo Rivas-Micoud | Kalika Lyceum LLC |
In-app purchases
MagicReader
No in-app purchases
MynaBooks
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MagicReader free?
Is MynaBooks free?
Do MagicReader or MynaBooks have ads?
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