akoue/
en
EnglishenРусскийruDeutschdeEspañolesFrançaisfr
Coming soon
akoue/guides/without opening

Without opening the app

A book can be paused, skipped, resumed and put to sleep without opening Akoue: from the lock screen, headphones or a widget, by voice and in the car.

All of this is free, CarPlay included. Skips everywhere use your intervals from Settings: the lock screen, headphones, the steering wheel and a widget all skip by the same amount.

The app draws no player of its own over the lock screen: that is the iOS system player, and Akoue hands it the book, the chapter, the cover and the commands.

01/05

The lock screen

The lock screen shows the iOS system player: the cover, the title, the chapter and a scale for the whole book rather than the current file.

  1. Start a book and lock the phone: the screen shows the cover, the title, the author and the current chapter.
  2. The scale covers the whole book: drag it and the book moves to that spot, even if it is in another file.
  3. The skip buttons use your intervals from Settings, not the system’s 15 seconds.
  4. The same goes for Control Center and the Dynamic Island.

Do not want people nearby to see the title? Settings → “Privacy” → “Hide the title on the lock screen”: it shows “Audiobook” instead, with no author and no cover.

02/05

Headphones and the steering wheel

A single press pauses and resumes. Double and triple presses can be given to chapters.

  1. A single press on the headphones pauses and resumes.
  2. Turn on Settings → “Playback” → “Headphone double-press — chapter”: a double press goes to the next chapter, a triple press to the previous one.
  3. “Previous” first returns to the start of the current chapter, and goes to the one before only if less than three seconds have passed since that start.
  4. Take the headphones off and the book pauses; put them back on and it does not start by itself. A call pauses the book and brings it back afterwards.

With chapters turned on, the lock screen shows chapter buttons instead of skips. The buttons on a car’s steering wheel work just like the ones on the lock screen.

03/05

Widgets

Two widgets for the Home Screen and three for the lock screen. The “Continue” buttons work without opening the app.

  1. Add an Akoue widget: touch and hold the Home Screen → “Edit” → “Add Widget”.
  2. “Continue” shows the book you are listening to and how much is left, adjusted for speed. The medium size adds back, play and forward buttons and, while the timer runs, its remaining time.
  3. “Library” shows four or eight started books; a tap on a cover opens the book in the player.
  4. On the lock screen “Continue” comes circular — a progress ring — rectangular — the title and the time left — and inline.

The figures on a widget update on app events and every quarter of an hour while a book plays: they are approximate, not to the second. Hiding the title does not apply to widgets.

04/05

Control Center, the Action button and Siri

Two commands can be given without looking at the screen: continue the book and start the sleep timer.

  1. Add “Continue book” and “Sleep timer” to Control Center — the same two can be assigned to the Action button.
  2. Siri understands “Continue my book in Akoue” and “Sleep timer in Akoue”.
  3. “Sleep timer” starts a 30-minute timer; pressing it again turns it off. It works when a book is already playing.
  4. The Shortcuts app has the actions “Pause or resume”, “Forward”, “Back”, “Continue book” and “Sleep timer” — for your own automations.

Continuing with no book open means continuing the last started book that has audio. If there is none, Siri says so.

05/05

CarPlay

In the car: three lists and the system Now Playing screen. Nothing needs setting up behind the wheel.

  1. “Continue” holds started books, the latest on top; “Books” — recently added ones; “Series” — volumes in order.
  2. A book row shows the author and how much is left, adjusted for speed.
  3. A tap on a book starts it at once and opens Now Playing: pause, skips by your intervals, the scale.
  4. The lists refresh every time a tab opens: a book started on the road is in “Continue” right away.

There is no import, editing, search or settings in the car: all of that happens on the phone. Each list holds at most twelve books.

What is not available outside the app

  • A counter of its own in the Dynamic Island: that is the system player tile, and the timer’s remaining time shows in the widget.
  • Apple Watch, Handoff and quick actions on the app icon.
  • Speed, timer, bookmark and chapter-list buttons in CarPlay.
  • Picking a book from a list in Shortcuts, or voice commands beyond the two: continue and sleep timer.
  • Auto-play when headphones connect: the book starts only on your command.
All guidesSupport