ShelfHead
Player for Audiobookshelf
Free
Built for iPhone Duo: your library on the left and your book on the right when it's open, and a player that lays itself out around the fold when you half-close it.
ShelfHead is a streamlined player for your self-hosted Audiobookshelf server. It connects straight to the server you run: no ShelfHead account, no middlemen, no ads.
Built for people who just want to listen. A clean, focused interface, fast browsing, and playback that remembers exactly where you left off on every device you own.
YOUR SERVER, YOUR WAY
• Sign in with username and password or SSO (OpenID Connect)
• Works behind Cloudflare Access, Authelia and other reverse proxies via custom HTTP headers
• Progress, bookmarks and finished status sync back to your server, and a clear prompt appears if two devices disagree
LISTEN ANYWHERE
• A Downloads tab with cover art, progress, length and size, swipe to play, and Download Health to verify and repair files
• Download a single title or a whole series; everything works offline and syncs when you reconnect
• CarPlay with series, authors, genres, bookmarks and chapters, an alphabet index for big libraries, and Continue Listening always first
• Apple Watch that works with your iPhone nearby or entirely on its own, with its own downloads
• Lock-screen, widget and Control Center controls; Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight and Handoff
A PLAYER THAT FITS
• Variable speed with per-book defaults, volume boost, and bass/treble tone control
• Chapter navigation, bookmarks, and sleep timers by duration, end of chapter or a nightly schedule
• Listening Profiles for Driving, Sleep and Work; Driving can switch on automatically in CarPlay
• An Up Next queue that skips finished books and adds the next in a series
A LIBRARY THAT UNDERSTANDS YOU
• Browse books, series, authors, narrators, collections and playlists, with search everywhere
• Smart filters: Nearly Finished, No Progress in 30 Days, Unplayed in a Started Series, Downloaded but Not Finished, and more
• Follow narrators and authors, play podcast episodes, and read ebooks and PDFs with your PDF position synced back to the server
• Listening stats, streaks, a swipeable Year in Review, and shareable images colour-matched to the cover
Also: optional Face ID or passcode lock, playback history with one-tap undo, full VoiceOver and Dynamic Type support, and a native design with a touch of cassette-deck character.
ShelfHead requires an existing Audiobookshelf server (audiobookshelf.org). It plays the library you already host and includes no content of its own. No analytics, no tracking, no advertising: it talks only to the server you configure.
more ShelfHead 7.0: made for iPhone Duo, inside and out.
Library side by side
• Open your iPhone Duo and Library spreads across the big screen: your books on the left, the book you pick on the right. Tap another book and the right side changes, with no going back and forth.
• Books you open from Series, Authors, Narrators, Genres, Collections, Playlists and Downloads open on the right too, and so do links and Spotlight results.
• The book you're looking at is highlighted in the list and the grid.
Around the fold
• Half-fold your iPhone Duo like a book and the player puts the cover on one side and the controls on the other. Fold it like a laptop and the cover sits above the fold with the controls below.
• Driving Mode does the same, so the big buttons never land on the fold.
• Library's grid uses an even number of columns when folded, so no cover is split down the middle.
Outer display
• Toolbar buttons now fit the side bar on iPhone Duo's outer display, and the most important ones stay visible.
• The A-Z scrubber in Library moves to the side away from the bar.
6.10 23 Oct
ShelfHead 6.9: a redesigned Apple Watch app, built around your books.
The Shelf
• Open ShelfHead on your Watch and your books are right there as big covers, one per screen. Turn the Digital Crown to flip between them and tap a cover to play.
• It gathers up to 10 books: what's playing, what you're part-way through, and what's downloaded to your Watch. Each one shows your progress and where it will play.
• Touch and hold a cover for its details.
Now Playing on Apple Watch
• One Now Playing screen, whether your Watch is controlling your iPhone or playing on its own.
• The Digital Crown now controls volume.
• Speed, sleep timer, chapters and bookmarks are one tap away. Speed is a proper list from 0.5× to 3×.
Library, details and downloads
• Library on your Watch has search, your books in progress, and Recently Added and Collections from your iPhone.
• Book details lead with the cover, and you can now mark a book as finished from your wrist.
• Downloads on your Watch and on your iPhone are in one list.
• Books without cover art show their title and author instead of a blank square.
Also new
• Your timed chapter skip now works when your Watch plays on its own.
• The sleep timer on the Lock Screen has a "+15 min" button.
• Mark a book finished or reset it on the web and ShelfHead updates within a second.
6.9 21 Oct
ShelfHead 6.8: your place follows you instantly, sleep timers live on the Lock Screen, and "Hey Siri" works in the car.
Instant sync
• Listen on the web or another device and ShelfHead moves a paused book to where you left off within moments, without a refresh. A book that's playing is never moved under you.
• ShelfHead now also refreshes in the background, so queued positions reach your server, Continue Listening downloads start (respecting Wi-Fi and charging settings), and widgets stay current before you open the app.
Live Activities
• A running sleep timer counts down on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, with a button to turn it off.
• Downloads show their progress there too.
• Turn them off any time in Settings > System & Privacy.
Siri and CarPlay
• Fixed: asking Siri to play a book from CarPlay no longer answers that it isn't supported. ShelfHead asks for Siri access the first time you play a book.
• A new Siri row in Settings > System & Privacy shows whether Siri can reach ShelfHead, with a shortcut to turn it on.
Spotlight and Shortcuts
• Spotlight results now know a book's narrator and series, and Apple Intelligence can find your audiobooks on iOS 18 and later.
• New "Open Audiobook" action in Shortcuts.
Driving Mode, redesigned
• Bigger controls within thumb reach, a landscape layout for car mounts, your real skip intervals under the buttons, and a chapter bar showing what's left. It fits every text size and stays dark however your theme is set.
Also fixed: pausing no longer makes the page jump while your position syncs.
6.8 21 Oct
ShelfHead 6.7: skip the same intro in every chapter, and ShelfHead now speaks Simplified Chinese.
Chapter skip
• Choose how many seconds to skip at the start and end of every chapter, from 5 seconds to 2 minutes, in Settings > Playback.
• Give any book its own timing from the player's ⋯ menu > Chapter Skip, or leave it on your default.
• Picking a chapter, scrubbing or jumping back always plays exactly where you asked. The last chapter is never cut short, and an end-of-chapter sleep timer stops where the skip begins.
• Books with a timed skip no longer also skip intro and outro chapters by title.
Simplified Chinese
• ShelfHead now runs in Simplified Chinese on iPhone, Apple Watch, widgets and CarPlay, following your device's language.
• Search in Settings understands Chinese words, and share cards are translated too.
Thank you to the reviewer who asked for both.
Also fixed: VoiceOver now says "Up Next, 1 book" instead of "1 books".
6.7 10 Oct
ShelfHead 6.6: your Apple Watch becomes a real running companion, almost everything can be undone, and Stats and Year in Review are rebuilt around your books.
Apple Watch
• Books downloaded to your Watch now play on the Watch, even with your iPhone nearby. Starting one hands the book over from your iPhone.
• Picks up where you actually left off, including progress you made on your iPhone.
• Browse your library and download books straight from the Watch, with an In Progress list at the top and a one-time setup to get it ready for runs.
• The Watch never removes a book you're partway through to make room. It tells you what it removed, or asks you to free up space.
• Fits smaller Watches and larger text, checks for headphones before playing out loud, and offers "Jump back" after you jump to a chapter or bookmark.
Undo and safety
• Mark as Finished, Reset, deleting a bookmark, removing a book from Up Next and starting a different book can all be undone.
• Swiping down on the mini player no longer stops playback. Long-press it for Stop and other options.
• Switching servers asks first, keeps your book playing if the other server can't be reached, and tells you what went wrong.
• Sign Out now signs you out of one server only. Your downloads come back when you sign in again.
Listening
• Driving Mode fits every iPhone at any text size and shows calm, clear status.
• A simpler sleep timer menu, clearer status in the player, and "Jump back" after any big jump.
• When you're offline but your download is playing, a quiet note says so, with Retry and Sync Now when they help.
Library, Stats and Year in Review
• Large libraries are easier to move through: a scrubber to jump through your books, and select several to queue, download or mark finished.
• Series pages have a Continue button, and collections and playlists can Play in Order.
• Stats leads with your total and daily goal, and your sessions open their book.
• Year in Review shows your most-played covers, with a new card to share.
Getting connected
• Adding a server on your home network works without typing http://, and connection problems now say what's wrong and how to fix it.
Settings are reorganised into shorter pages, and search takes you straight to the setting. Text and controls are easier to read in light mode and at larger text sizes.
6.6 6 Oct
ShelfHead 6.5: Siri in CarPlay now plays your books, and the Apple Watch complication takes you straight to what's playing.
• CarPlay: the Siri row at the top of Home now works. Ask it to play a book by name, or just say "play" to pick up where you left off. "Hey Siri, play … in ShelfHead" on your iPhone works the same way.
• Apple Watch: tapping the ShelfHead complication while a book is showing opens Now Playing directly, whether the Watch is playing on its own or controlling your iPhone.
6.5 4 Oct
ShelfHead 6.4: a more polished look, standalone Apple Watch listening, and a Siri row in CarPlay.
• A fresher look: covers share one corner and edge style everywhere, a tall cover shows whole on the player and Book Detail, and Book Detail's cover is larger. Cards stand out more in Dark, and card titles, row titles and numbers are consistent across Stats, Year in Review and your lists.
• Easier to read: the active Speed and Sleep buttons in the player are clear again, the player's tool row is larger, selected tabs and toggles are darker in Light, chart labels stay readable at the largest text sizes, and alerts and menus now use neutral buttons instead of hard-to-read amber.
• Authors and Narrators show a photo or a mosaic of their covers, and authors show how many books you have. Library's scope picker sits with the search field on iOS 26.
• Book Detail's Play bar and sheets like Chapters and Bookmarks now use the standard iOS 26 glass bar and Close button, and the mini player's text is clearer.
• Apple Watch: a warmer look that matches your iPhone. When the Watch is playing on its own you can now use chapters, a sleep timer that fades out, and bookmarks (bookmarks made offline sync later). Chapters also work for books downloaded to the Watch. There's a new watch face complication that shows your current book.
• CarPlay has a Siri row at the top of Home: ask it to play a book by name, or just say "play" to pick up where you left off.
• Fixes: adding a server with a plain http:// address no longer closes silently, and Tailscale addresses connect without the insecure-connection warning. Collections and Playlists appear in Library's More menu on newer Audiobookshelf servers, and swiping a download to remove it now asks first. Widgets keep your cover's colours on tinted Home Screens, and Home and Library no longer show two error messages at once.
6.4 30 Sept
ShelfHead 6.3: quicker to play, clearer while you wait, and easier for everyone to use.
• Play or resume any book straight from a long press, with a preview of its cover. In Library's list view, swipe right on a book to play it.
• Starting a book feels instant: the mini player appears straight away with the cover and title, and a second tap can't start it twice.
• When audio is waiting on the network, a ring spins around the play button, on your iPhone and on Apple Watch, so you know it's loading rather than stuck.
• ShelfHead opens straight away even when your server is slow or unreachable, instead of waiting on the launch screen.
• Loading screens across Library, Series, Authors, Narrators, Collections, Playlists, Stats and Year in Review now show the shape of what's coming and fade into it. A small spinner appears at the bottom while more books load.
• Year in Review keeps your figures on screen while you switch years. Marking a whole series finished shows its progress, and Download Health shows when it's checking your files.
• VoiceOver: the listening heatmap reads as a summary with one stop per week, empty screens read more clearly, and the full player's close handle is much easier to hit.
• Larger text: icons now grow with the text beside them, the offline banner scales and wraps, and the App Lock screen scrolls at the largest sizes.
• App Lock shows the Face ID, Touch ID or passcode icon your device actually uses, and Settings names it correctly too.
• Widgets: a new widget previews its real layout while loading, changing your accent colour updates widgets and Control Center controls straight away, and widgets say "Sign in to ShelfHead" when you're signed out, while keeping your pinned book for when you're back.
• Apple Watch: skip buttons move the time as soon as you tap, animations pause in Always-On to save battery, covers fade in, chapter titles wrap onto more lines, and dimmed buttons explain why they're unavailable.
• CarPlay shows speeds like 2.75× correctly. Failed downloads show their whole error message, settings rows slide in smoothly, and your daily goal ring fills as you listen.
6.3 26 Sept
ShelfHead 6.2: smoother everywhere, and clearer about what's happening.
• Downloaded books show their cover on the Lock Screen, in Control Center and in CarPlay, even when you're offline.
• Covers fade in as your library loads instead of popping in.
• The full player slides up the same way however you open it: from the mini player, a book's page, a bookmark or a podcast episode.
• The offline and "can't reach your server" banner slides in and out smoothly, and a brief server hiccup no longer flashes a warning.
• Switching accounts shows progress on the account you picked and waits until it's done, so a second tap can't get in the way. The same goes for opening a book from another server.
• CarPlay: switching accounts clears the previous library straight away, and "Show more…" keeps its spinner until the next page of books arrives.
• Year in Review follows you when you switch accounts, and Share shows its progress instead of pausing.
• Apple Watch: when your iPhone isn't nearby, the Digital Crown scrolls Now Playing. Tap the time to scrub, and it hands the crown back when you're done. A spinner shows while a book starts, and a short note explains that chapters, bookmarks and the sleep timer need your iPhone.
• Apple Watch: VoiceOver now reads how to reach the other Now Playing pages, and covers fade in on the watch too.
6.2 24 Sept
ShelfHead 6.1 - a new icon, a cleaner look, and more of your library in more places.
• A new app icon, built for iOS 26's Liquid Glass and matched on Apple Watch. Dark, clear and tinted Home Screens all get their own version.
• Cleaner toolbars: navigation icons are now plain instead of accent-coloured, so what's active stands out.
• VoiceOver reads the author and narrator lists, download progress, audio sliders, the offline banner and the Year in Review chart properly, and the full player can be dismissed with the standard escape gesture.
• More text follows your Dynamic Type size: Driving Mode, the tape counter, Home progress, the lock screen and the listening heatmap.
• Jump Back after a big skip now waits for you instead of disappearing after a few seconds.
• Shake-to-reset the sleep timer is now off by default (turn it on in Settings > Sleep Timer) so it never fights the system's shake-to-undo while you're typing.
• The Lock Screen and CarPlay show which chapter you're in, and Siri, CarPlay and headphone controls can change playback speed on every supported iOS version.
• CarPlay: adding a bookmark confirms on the button itself instead of a pop-up, and search tells you when there are more matches to refine.
• Apple Watch: turning the Digital Crown pages through Now Playing again. Tap the time to scrub with the crown, tap again to finish.
• App Lock shows Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode to match your device.
• Fixes: Verify and Repair in Download Health are separate buttons again, the "Notifications are off" alert opens the right Settings page, and a Home Screen widget's Book option only appears when you've chosen Specific Book.
• Control Center: add Play/Pause, Resume Last Book, Sleep Timer and Open Now Playing as controls. They work from the Lock Screen and the Action Button, even when the app isn't running.
• "Hey Siri, play ShelfHead" resumes your book in the background without opening the app.
• On Other Servers: if you use more than one Audiobookshelf server, your in-progress books from all of them appear on Home. Tap one to switch and keep listening.
• A Stats tab with a 20-week listening heatmap next to your goal ring, streaks and history.
• Where you left off: a short spoiler-free recap on each book's page. On iOS 26 with Apple Intelligence it's written on your device; nothing leaves your phone.
• Bookmark notes: add a note to any bookmark, and export a book's bookmarks - or all of them - as Markdown.
• Widgets skip chapters on the large size and look right in StandBy.
• Downloads has a home at the top of Library, with a badge while anything is downloading. Preferences and storage stay in Settings.
• iCloud position sync (optional): keeps your place when your server can't be reached.
• Export and import your settings, and see every device signed in to your account - sign any of them out. Admins can trigger a server backup from Diagnostics.
6.1 18 Sept
Better in the car, on the Lock Screen and on your wrist.
• CarPlay shows where you are in every book and chapter, with a play indicator on the one that's playing. The Chapters list gets a header with the cover, a progress ring, time left and a play/pause button.
• A new Lock Screen on iOS 27. The author line now shows the chapter you're in, the scrubber covers just that chapter, and the star adds a bookmark at the current spot. Tap it again to remove it. Next and previous skip chapters. Prefer the old controls? Turn on Classic Lock Screen controls in Settings > Playback.
• Deleting a bookmark now removes it from your server too. Any deletes that were stuck waiting will clear on their own.
• Apple Watch companion mode mirrors your iPhone from the very first launch on iOS 27.
• Playback on iOS 27 starts more reliably, and spoken-word audio settings apply the way they should again.
5.7 16 Sept
Ready for iOS 27
• Year in Review is back to a grid of cards: your year at a glance, a year picker at the top, and one shareable summary card.
• Sign-in gets out of your way. If your server offers single sign-on, the option opens by itself after the connection test.
• Smart Filters show how many books match, right in the Library filter sheet.
• Downloads show their size from the moment the app opens, not after a scroll.
• Control Center does exactly what it says: pause means pause, even after the app was closed.
• Listening offline while also reading a PDF of the same book no longer loses one of the two positions when you're back online.
• Enjoying ShelfHead? There's a Rate ShelfHead link in Settings, and we may ask once after you finish a book or hit a week-long streak. Never on launch.
• Built with Xcode 27 for iOS 27 and watchOS 27, with a tidier codebase under the hood.
5.6 15 Sept
A cleaner ShelfHead, inside and out.
• Smoother sign-in. Test your server, then sign in on its own page. Single sign-on and custom headers for reverse proxies are there from the first screen, and you can choose to remember your password.
• Downloads are back in the tab bar, with cover art, progress, length and size on every book, swipe to play, and a badge while downloads are running. Everything works offline.
• Now Playing is quieter: softer time readouts, a play button that stays on screen at large text sizes, and Listening Profiles in the player menu.
• Book pages lead with what matters: a compact download control, real descriptions only, and chapter lengths at a glance.
• Library scopes are a proper switcher, and a Smart Filters shelf for Home is one tap away in Customize Home.
• Year in Review is now a swipeable story you can share. The share composer is down to five presets.
• PDF reading position syncs back to your server, even after reading offline.
• CarPlay: alphabet index for Series, Authors and Genres, Continue Listening first, and a Driving profile that switches on when you connect.
• Apple Watch: one home screen whether or not your iPhone is nearby, and text that follows your Watch text size.
• Control Center: a play/pause control that also resumes your last book.
• Settings, Collections, Playlists, History and the ebook reader are friendlier with VoiceOver and large text.
Plus new tab icons, a tab bar that tucks away as you scroll, and dozens of smaller refinements.
5.5 14 Sept
A big reliability release.
- Sync conflicts now resolve properly — your choice applies, sticks, and only appears when devices truly disagree.
- Cover art updates everywhere the moment you change it on your server.
- Lock screen and CarPlay no longer stick at 0:00, and playback recovers after calls and interruptions.
- Downloads resume after a force-quit, and a failed repair can't delete the rest of a book.
- Apple Watch gets its own sign-in, resumes where you left off, and downloads with the app closed.
- Dozens of smaller fixes across bookmarks, accounts, widgets and CarPlay.
5.4 10 Sept
• The Now Playing bar no longer lingers as an empty pill at the bottom of the screen when nothing is playing (iOS 26.1 and later).
• The black strip that showed behind the tab bar and Now Playing bar on the Home and Library screens is gone — they're see-through like the rest of the app.
• The Listening tab no longer recalculates all of its stats and charts every half-second while a book is playing, so it stays smooth and uses less battery.
• Swiping the Now Playing bar away with Reduce Motion on no longer pauses briefly before it disappears.
• The AirPlay button in the player now recolours correctly when you switch between light and dark.
• Reading an ebook no longer jumps back to the first page when something else in the app updates.
5.3 9 Sept
• Ask Siri for a book by name — "Play The Hobbit in ShelfHead" — instead of being asked which book every time.
• Building a shortcut now gives you a book picker, with your downloaded books suggested, instead of a plain text field.
• Siri and Shortcuts now search every library on your server, not just the first one with a match.
• New Siri phrase: "Set a sleep timer in ShelfHead."
• CarPlay: Search now tells you when it's unavailable while driving, instead of opening a screen you can't type into.
• Reduce Motion is now respected across the app and on Apple Watch — bouncing icons, animated progress bars and button press effects stay still.
• The playback speed readout now rolls between values instead of snapping.
• The sleep timer chip in the player no longer shows a press effect where there's nothing to tap.
5.2 7 Sept
•Widgets are now configurable - show Now Playing, Up Next, or pin a specific book.
• Share a bookmark's note as a card straight from the player's Bookmarks list, and edit bookmark notes there too.
• Year in Review shows a preview before you share, and says so when its numbers are based on only your most recent sessions.
• Share cards for finished books can hide time and book-count details, and "Hide Stats" now hides the number on every card style.
• The chapter list opens at your current chapter, shows a message when a book has no chapters, and matches the look of Bookmarks and Up Next.
• The Library filter sheet shows a live result count, explains the active Smart Filter, and makes it clear when a Smart Filter overrides other options.
• CarPlay: Now Playing controls appear no matter where playback started, long lists page with "Show more", the chapter list centres on your current chapter, and errors show on screen instead of failing silently.
• Widgets: Continue Listening progress no longer sticks at 0% or shows a stale time, widgets scale properly at larger text sizes, and they hide book details while App Lock is on.
• Fixed series auto-continue and auto-download picking an earlier book instead of the next unfinished one.
• Bookmarks made offline are no longer lost — they appear immediately and sync once you're back online.
• Bookmarks now save the exact moment you tapped, not the moment you finished typing the note.
• Larger text sizes: the player's cover, title and toolbar, section headers, Smart Filter chips and Settings rows all lay out properly at accessibility sizes.
• Settings: Bass and Treble show their value, security toggles explain themselves inline, "Auto-download while charging" is greyed out when it doesn't apply, and Server Diagnostics shows real account and library names instead of IDs.
• Removing your signed-in account now signs you out, clearing Up Next asks first, and the two "Remove All Downloads" buttons share one confirmation.
• Fixed the mini player's title being nearly invisible in Light mode, "(Unabridged)" cluttering titles, a blank "Narrated by", duplicated series numbers, and short chapters reading "0m".
• Fixed the same server typed with different capitalisation splitting your downloads and progress in two.
5.1 5 Sept
A big Apple Watch upgrade — new look, smarter Downloads, and a more reliable standalone mode.
• Redesigned the Watch home screen - a featured Continue Listening card plus a tappable tile grid.
• Added haptics throughout the Watch app for play/pause, skip, bookmarks, and downloads.
• Polished visuals across the Watch app: richer icons, smoother animations, blurred cover art on Now Playing.
• Digital Crown scrubbing now works in Standalone mode.
• Downloads now show active progress and failure reasons, with retry, right on the Watch.
• Added Control Center support for play/pause when paired with iPhone.
• You can sign in manually on the Watch anytime, not just when signed out.
• Fixed Standalone mode connection failures, session-expired errors, and a Now Playing dead end.
• Fixed missing book covers and swipe actions on several Watch screens.
• Fixed an invisible Downloads icon on the Now Playing screen.
• Simplified Downloads settings into one screen with a clear "Downloaded Books" list.
• Fixed Home's Continue Listening button getting stuck on "Resume" while playing.
5.0 1 Sept
What's New in 4.7
A big visual refresh, plus a more usable Library.
• Refreshed the look of the app with Apple's newest Liquid Glass design — cleaner floating controls on the full-screen player, mini-player, and connectivity banner.
• Library now has a dedicated Filters & Sort screen instead of one long menu — faster to find Smart Filters, change sort order, or switch between grid and list.
• Active/failed downloads now show as a small badge in Library instead of a full banner, so they're out of your way until you need them.
• The Home screen's Continue Listening card got a bigger cover and a cleaner layout.
• Fixed some books on Home's Recently Added shelf showing artwork with no title.
• Fixed overlapping date labels on the Month view of your listening stats chart.
• Fixed a case where pausing or resuming a book could shift items around in your Library grid.
• Smarter, quieter in-app tips for fine-scrubbing, the cassette flip view, and Driving Mode — they show up less often and only when they're genuinely useful.
• Removed alternate app icons.
• Lots of smaller polish and reliability fixes throughout Library, Home, and the Player.
4.7 28 Aug
ShelfHead 4.5
New
- Retro-cassette redesign - Now Playing fits on one screen, full cover art, no cropping
- Home leads with Continue Listening - pick up in one tap
- Two-step sign-in with clear error messages (wrong address, port, certificate, etc.)
- Library sort/filter/display in one menu; B-side shuffle now has a real button
- Book details: Play/Resume pinned at bottom; Chapters/Bookmarks in a quick sheet
- Offline sync indicator with "Sync Now" in Settings > Diagnostics
- Polished light theme; iOS 26 tab bar and minimizing mini-player
Fixed
- Better VoiceOver support, including Apple Watch scrubbing
- Skip buttons now always match your set interval
- Rare mis-seek near track boundaries
- More reliable downloads, sync, and Watch connectivity
- Security and stability improvements
4.5 22 Aug
New
- A redesigned Home. A Downloaded shelf for offline books and a "Your Week" card showing minutes listened, streak, and longest session at a glance.
- Library is more search-first, a library-name subtitle plus one-tap filter chips (All, Unplayed, In Progress, Finished, Downloaded).
- A refined Now Playing screen, tap the chapter name to jump to the chapter list, a visible playhead on the scrubber, and elapsed/remaining time now clearly labeled as chapter time vs. whole-book time. The toolbar is down to five actions (Speed, Sleep, Chapters, Bookmark, AirPlay).
- A reorganized Share sheet, labeled Format/Style/Card Type/Privacy groups, with one-tap privacy presets (Standard, Hide Stats, Cover Only) right up front.
- More from Listening Stats, a current-pace estimate, a This Week vs. Last Week comparison, and an average session length card.
- The Downloads and Settings tabs are no longer called "Tapes" and "Setup."
Fixed
- Meaningfully reduced background battery use, and the Apple Watch companion no longer pushes playback updates far more often than intended.
- The Watch app recovers correctly after a reinstall and keeps chapters/bookmarks fresh across book changes.
- Fixed the Month view in Listening Stats showing ambiguous day numbers.
4.3 11 Aug
ShelfHead 4.1
New
- An Apple Watch app to control playback from your wrist — play/pause, skip, and see what's playing.
- Download Health verifies every downloaded book and repairs just the broken files instead of a full re-download.
- Smart library filters — Nearly Finished, No Progress in 30 Days, Missing Covers, and more — one tap away.
- Follow your favourite narrators and authors, with a dedicated shelf for what they've released lately.
- A smarter Up Next queue that skips finished titles and can auto-add the next book in a series.
- Listening Profiles — one-tap presets for Driving, Sleep, and Work that adjust speed, volume, and downloads.
- An optional Face ID/Touch ID/passcode lock for the whole app.
- A clear prompt when a book's progress disagrees between this device and the server.
- A playback history log with one-tap undo for an accidental "mark finished" or reset.
- Also new: podcasts, in-app ebook/PDF reading, volume boost & tone control, scheduled and smarter sleep timers, auto-skip intros/outros, Year in Review, daily listening goals, SSO sign-in, custom HTTP headers, one-tap series downloads, and reorganised, searchable Settings.
Fixed
- The widget's Play button now resumes reliably, even after a force-quit.
- Lock Screen, Control Center, and CarPlay update immediately after a skip.
- Listening stats are no longer inflated at faster playback speeds.
- Downloads and progress no longer mix between accounts or servers.
- Wi-Fi-only downloads are enforced for the whole download, not just the start.
- Fixed a rare case where your position could be lost mid-sync.
- Siri's Play and Resume commands now work reliably right after launch.
Security
- Stronger protection for stored passwords, downloads, and diagnostics exports.
- Downloaded audio now goes through a stricter integrity check before being marked complete.
4.1 5 Aug
ShelfHead 3.0
New
A fresh, modern look. The tab bar and mini-player are now floating translucent "glass" pills that hover over your library, with a soft highlight on the current tab - right at home on iOS 26.
Shareable cards. Turn any book into a beautiful, shareable image from the "•••" menu or the Now Playing screen. Pick a format (Story, Square or Landscape) and a design (Spotlight, Kinetic, Collage, Chapter, Retro, Finished, or a listening Persona), then feature whatever you like - progress, the current chapter, a finished-book milestone, your streak, books finished, or your listening personality. Every card is colour-matched to the book's cover, with Shuffle, Try Another Style, per-card privacy options, and Share or Save to Photos.
Now Playing follows Light Mode, and you can open a book's details straight from the player.
Library, refined. Switch between Books, Series, Authors, Narrators, Collections and Playlists from a tidy switcher at the top - and only the sections your library actually has are shown. Search now works in every one of them.
Fixed
Listening Stats no longer hide behind the mini-player, and a single session can no longer show an impossibly long time.
The Now Playing controls fit correctly and no longer clip at the bottom.
Faster, smoother share-card creation, plus assorted performance and reliability improvements.
3.0 30 Jul
ShelfHead 2.4
New
- Driving mode - a full-screen, big-button player for when you're on the move.
- Jump back - instantly undo an accidental scrub, plus a gentle haptic as each new chapter begins.
- Library, your way - switch between grid and list, and sort by Recently Played.
- Swipe actions - mark finished, download, or add to Up Next right from the list.
- Reminders - an optional daily listening nudge and download-complete alerts.
- A new large home-screen widget with cover, progress, and full playback controls.
Fixed
- Pull-to-refresh no longer clears your shelves.
- CarPlay now loads your library as soon as you connect - no need to open the app first - and a book you start in the car shows up on your phone.
- "Hey Siri, play ShelfHead" now resumes your book.
2.4 18 Jul
ShelfHead 2.3
A big update focused on making everyday listening smoother, more personal, and more reliable.
- Light theme - choose System, Light, or Dark, and pick your own accent colour.
- Make Home yours - show or hide shelves to match how you listen.
- Up Next queue - line up books; it auto-advances (gapless) when one finishes and is saved between launches.
- Series, reimagined - stacked-cover posters, progress rings, and a dedicated page per series.
- Speed, your way - quick presets plus fine ±0.05 control, remembered per book.
- Now Playing indicator across Library, Home, and search, plus Lock Screen widgets.
- Browse by author, narrator, and genre, with smarter search.
- Ask Siri to play a book, search from Spotlight, and hand off between iPhone and iPad.
- Listening History and time-left / finish-by estimates.
- Pause & resume downloads, Wi-Fi-only / while-charging options, and auto-download for series.
- A smarter sleep timer (end of chapter / end of book, shake to reset) and bookmarks with notes.
- Big accessibility, reliability, and security improvements - including a dependable pull-to-refresh.
Thanks for listening with ShelfHead. Got feedback? We'd love to hear it.
2.3 14 Jul
ShelfHead 7.0: made for iPhone Duo, inside and out.
Library side by side
• Open your iPhone Duo and Library spreads across the big screen: your books on the left, the book you pick on the right. Tap another book and the right side changes, with no going back and forth.
• Books you open from Series, Authors, Narrators, Genres, Collections, Playlists and Downloads open on the right too, and so do links and Spotlight results.
• The book you're looking at is highlighted in the list and the grid.
Around the fold
• Half-fold your iPhone Duo like a book and the player puts the cover on one side and the controls on the other. Fold it like a laptop and the cover sits above the fold with the controls below.
• Driving Mode does the same, so the big buttons never land on the fold.
• Library's grid uses an even number of columns when folded, so no cover is split down the middle.
Outer display
• Toolbar buttons now fit the side bar on iPhone Duo's outer display, and the most important ones stay visible.
• The A-Z scrubber in Library moves to the side away from the bar.
more Version 6.10 23 Oct
Data Not Collected The developer does not collect any data from this app.