Now in public beta on TestFlight

Read in the language you're learning.

Bookmuse is a calm reader for your own books, with an AI companion beside every page. Understand every word in its sentence, listen along, and keep the words you meet.

Join the Beta See how it works

Free while in beta · iPhone and iPad · iOS 26

Your own booksEPUBs you own, or free classics
Every word, in contextThe meaning it has in that sentence
Private by designNo account, ads or tracking
Features

Everything a reader needs. Nothing between you and the page.

Understand

Every word, right where you meet it.

Hold a word and tap Translate. A card slides up with the meaning it has in that sentence, not a list of dictionary guesses.

  • Pronunciation, every common meaning, an example and synonyms
  • Word roots: see that “possession” comes from Latin possidere, “to hold”
  • Ask a follow-up: “Is it formal?”, “Give me more examples”
A word card for “possession” over a page of Pride and Prejudice, showing its pronunciation, translation, roots and senses
Ask the book

Lost the thread? Just ask.

Ask about the passage you're on, or the book so far. “Who is Mr. Bingley?” “What just happened?”

  • Answers come from the book's own text, around where you are
  • Each answer points to the page it came from
  • Select a passage and tap Ask, or ask about the whole book so far
Ask AI explaining why Mrs. Bennet is excited that Netherfield Park is let, with page references
Listen

Hear it read aloud, and follow along.

Bookmuse reads your book aloud while the text follows along. Tap a sentence to translate it, ask about it, or jump there.

  • Bookmuse Voices: natural English and Vietnamese voices that run on your iPhone
  • Any Apple voice, including Premium voices and your own Personal Voice
  • Or online voices from ElevenLabs, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Vbee or your own server
The Listen player reading Pride and Prejudice aloud, with the current word highlighted
Keep

The words you meet, kept with their story.

One tap saves a word with the sentence and the book it came from. It's marked everywhere it appears in that book, so you meet it again.

  • Your Vault: notes, tags and search
  • Filter by tag, language or book
  • Import word lists (CSV/TSV) and export as CSV
The Vault listing words saved from Pride and Prejudice with their translations
Remember

Remember them, a few minutes a day.

Flashcards scheduled with spaced repetition bring each word back right before you'd forget it, and a daily goal keeps you reading.

  • FSRS scheduling, the modern spaced-repetition algorithm
  • Finish a book, then review the words you saved from it
  • Reading and review streaks, with reminders when you want them
A flashcard for “acknowledged” with Again, Hard, Good and Easy buttons
Stats showing the daily reading goal met, streaks and a week of reading time
And more

Made to feel at home on iPhone and iPad.

Books from anywhere

Open EPUBs from Files, Mail, Safari or AirDrop. Browse free classics from Project Gutenberg, or your own Calibre, Komga or Stump server.

Your default Translate app

Select text in any app, tap Translate, and Bookmuse answers in place. Save the word in one tap.

Your choice of AI

Apple Translation is free and works offline. Apple Intelligence runs on device. Or bring your own key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter, Ollama and more.

Widgets, Siri and Shortcuts

Continue Reading is one tap away on your Home Screen. See words due for review, or say “Continue reading in Bookmuse.”

Quote cards

Select a passage you love and share it as a beautifully set quote card.

In sync, without an account

Books, words and progress move between your iPhone and iPad through your own iCloud.

Privacy

Your books. Your words. Nobody else's.

Bookmuse has no servers that see your reading. What you look up goes to an AI provider only if you connect one yourself.

No account No ads or tracking Synced by your iCloud

Read the privacy policy

FAQ

Questions, answered.

How do I get Bookmuse?

Bookmuse is in public beta through Apple's TestFlight. On your iPhone or iPad, open the beta invitation, install TestFlight if you're asked to, then tap Accept and Install.

Is it free?

Yes, Bookmuse is free while it's in beta, with no ads and no in-app purchases. If you connect your own AI provider, that provider may charge you for what you use.

Which devices does it run on?

iPhone and iPad with iOS 26 or iPadOS 26. Apple Intelligence features need a device that supports Apple Intelligence.

Where do the books come from?

You bring them. Open any DRM-free EPUB from Files, Mail, Safari or AirDrop, browse thousands of free classics from Project Gutenberg, or connect your own book server (Calibre, Komga, Stump, or any OPDS catalog). Your books stay in your own iCloud Drive.

Do I need an AI subscription or an API key?

No. Out of the box, Bookmuse uses Apple Translation, which is free and works offline once a language is downloaded. On devices with Apple Intelligence you also get word roots, meanings, follow-ups and Ask AI, all on device.

If you'd like, you can connect your own account with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, Groq, Mistral, DeepSeek, xAI, or any OpenAI-compatible server such as Ollama or LM Studio.

Which languages can I learn?

Any language pair Apple Translation supports, and with an AI provider, almost any language it understands. Bookmuse Voices read English and Vietnamese on your device, and Apple's voices cover many more languages.

How do I make Bookmuse my default Translate app?

Open the Settings app, then Apps → Default Apps → Translation, and choose Bookmuse. Now select text in any app, tap Translate, and Bookmuse shows the meaning with one tap to save it.

Is my reading private?

Yes. There's no account, no analytics and no tracking. Your books, words and progress stay on your devices and sync through your own iCloud. See the privacy policy for the details.

Can I bring my existing word lists?

Yes. Import CSV or TSV files into your Vault, and export your Vault as CSV whenever you like.

Bookmuse app icon

Start reading with Bookmuse.

Join the public beta and be among the first readers.

Join the Beta on TestFlight
  1. Open the inviteTap Join the Beta on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Get TestFlightInstall Apple's free TestFlight app if asked.
  3. Install BookmuseTap Accept, then Install, and start reading.