A little structure.
A lot more reading.

Choose a book to focus on.

Focus is the center of Actually Read. Move through a realistic book carousel of your current reads and choose the book you want to spend time with.

Any book in your library can be pinned to Focus: an ebook you read inside Actually Read, a paperback on your nightstand, or a book you read in another app. It all works across iPhone and iPad.

Start a focused session.

Turn on Deep Focus to shield distracting apps, categories, and websites using Apple’s Screen Time API. Choose the distractions to block, select a reading duration or unlimited time, and start your session.

A Live Activity displays your session while Deep Focus blocks your selected distractions. The same focus tools work whether you are reading on screen or holding a physical book.

Open an ebook and settle in.

Download from over 70,000 free public-domain ebooks through Project Gutenberg, or import your own EPUB or PDF files. Open your book in the built-in reader, which tracks the time you spend and your progress as you read.

Your library keeps digital books alongside the physical books you track. You can move between reading on screen and on paper while keeping your reading in one place.

Your paperback belongs here, too.

Search the large catalog of published books to find the title you are reading. Actually Read finds its cover image, author, and summary for you. Add it to your library and organize it in a reading list.

Pin it to Focus, block distractions while you read your paperback, then log your progress afterward. You can use the same book tracker for books you read in another app, without importing a digital copy into Actually Read.

Ask a question. Return to the passage.

When you want an explanation or recap, the companion actively searches your digital book and answers with citations to its text. Tap a citation to go directly to the relevant passage. Turn on Avoid Spoilers to constrain retrieval to the part you have already reached.

This is retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG. Book indexing and retrieval happen on-device for every model option. On supported devices, answers can use Apple’s on-device Foundation Models; Advanced AI uses cloud models with relevant retrieved excerpts and request context. The full book is not uploaded to an AI provider for answering questions.

EPUBs offer the richest reader and AI experience; PDF support is more limited. A catalog record for a physical book does not supply its full text for AI answers.

See your reading come together.

See how much time you have spent with each book, review focus sessions and progress, and revisit highlights and chat entries. Whether you read inside Actually Read or use it as a tracker, your history brings your reading activity together.

The core reading experience is free, including book tracking, focus sessions, and on-device AI on supported devices. For more capable cloud models, Advanced AI is available through a subscription.