Amazon’s Kindle e-book readers are finally receiving support for the popular EPUB (Electronic Publishing) file format for books. The US technical company has updated its support page and confirmed that Kindle devices will start supporting EPUB files later this year. Currently, readers manually convert EPUB files to MOBI, AZW3, or other formats to load into their Kindle. This method also sometimes causes conversion problems. In addition, Amazon disables support for MOBI and AZW file formats. The update only applies to new eBooks. EPUB is a widely accepted e-book format used by major online publishers.
According to Amazon Help and Customer Service pageKindle e-readers, first seen by Good E-Reader, are gaining support for the widely used EPUB e-book format. Send to Kindle applications will begin receiving support for the EPUB file format in late 2022. This update allows readers to convert their EPUB files using the Send to Kindle feature and can be opened on all Amazon Kindle e-readers.
Previously, users were required to convert their eBook catalog to a Kindle-compatible format using third-party applications such as Caliber.
However, like a Good e-Reader he noted, Amazon does not appear to natively support EPUB files. Instead, it will convert recorded EPUB files to KF8 (Kindle Format 8)formatwhich is compatible with Kindle devices. This will be useful for users who have EPUB files and want to opt for a Kindle device. But for the rest, it will be difficult to get all the e-books from the Kindle into another e-reader.
Amazon is also ending its own MOBI ebook file format, saying it is an older file format and will not support the latest Kindle document features. MOBI books already added to the library will continue to be accessible. Amazon also disables the ability to upload AZW files to the Kindle.
In addition to MOBI and EPUB, readers can send Microsoft Word, HTML, RTF, Text JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP and PDF files to their library using a Send to Kindle email address. These file formats also support Amazon’s handy Send to Kindle applications.
Amazon is constantly adding new features to its Kindle and Audible platforms. In September last year, the company released a software update for Kindle (8th generation and higher), Kindle Paperwhite (7th generation and higher) and Kindle Oasis. The update allows users to adjust device brightness, switch to Airplane mode, Bluetooth and go to All Settings using a new menu that scrolls down.
