Essential Apps
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Bible ?
by Immersion Digital
Glo Bible gets most honorable mention for creating an interactive interface when all others created a simple reader. The app launches with a visual index of all of the books of the Bible, and then distills it down to each level of the Bible, from Book to Verse. At each level, the user can access additional media pertaining to that particular section. Glo Bible offers up photos, videos, maps and a huge store of additional resources for the user to access. For those who also require standard eReader features, Glo Bible doesn’t disappoint.
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Bible
by LifeChurch.tv
Still consistently one of the highest ranked Bible reading apps in the App Store, LifeChurch.tv’s Bible continues to be one of the most frequently maintained and frequently used Bible readers. For users that were originally members of YouVersion, this is a simple way to transition your studies from their web-based application. Otherwise, to get started LifeChurch.tv allows the user to create an account which manages all of their favorite Bible Editions, both online and offline. For offline reading, simply download the Bible version of choice locally to the app. This app also comes loaded with helpful study features such as reading plans, reading history, notes, bookmarks, highlighting and even the ability to sync all of those features with the web-based version.
Notable Apps
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Bible.is
by Faith Comes by Hearing
This app is similar to the YouVersion app, in that it packs good features into an accessible package. This app doesn’t have very many English Bible versions in comparison. However, it excels in providing a huge number of foreign translations and also both dramatized and non-dramatized audio. For those interested, you can also watch the JESUS Film Project in many of these foreign languages.
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Bible+
by Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc
Olive Tree is renowned on the App Store in this category because of the sheer volume of Biblical resources they’ve made available by iDevice. Rather than compiling each version of the text into one app with each version available for in-app purchase, Olive Tree has separated them into individual apps. This is perfect for the user who prefers a single version, but a pain for those who prefer to have multiple. Don’t be fooled though, with each app Olive Tree provides they still cover a great bookshelf of resources and notes for in-app purchase within each version. When it comes to features, each version of Bible+ comes stocked with solid study tools like bookmarks, highlights, history tracking, and even maps of locations mentioned in the Bible.
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Bible Gateway
by Zondervan
BibleGateway has done a particularly great job of using iOS interface trends to create a visually appealing eReader, stocked with all of the features that one comes to expect from a Bible Study app. BibleGateway also offers a solid base of 90 translations including NIV, KJV, ESV, NKJV, HCSB, NASB, CEB, The Message (MSG), Amplified Bible (AMP), and many more, some also available in audio format.
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Holy Bible
by Paul Avery
The Holy Bible is probably the most legible of the Bible reading apps on the App Store. It aggregates the text on a simple, well spaced, and well organized page, so that the reader’s eye can easily process the block of text in front of them. The feature icons are simple and clear, and there’s no confusion as to what they do. The app is limited in the versions and commentaries it provides, in that it only offers 23 translations.
Decent Apps
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PocketBible
by Laridian
PocketBible by Laridian is yet another app that allows you to download or purchase additional books. This isn’t a bad app. However, it didn’t feel intuitive. I found myself digging around the menu options instead of easily navigating them. It sometimes felt like more work than it was worth. PocketBible is decent, but it’s not my preference.
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The Illustrated Bible
by Davidson Publishing, LLC
The Illustrated Bible is a free download and includes the book of John. The app has several in-app purchases to buy the rest of the Bible. The book sets are $1.99, which can become quite costly. The app will bundle books together, such as 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. The app is also quite large, coming in at around 1GB just for the book of John. The app would be impractical to use if you were to buy the entire Bible. Negatives aside, the content is pretty unique. The app includes the full text to the International Children’s Bible with thousands of illustrations. The illustrations make for a comic book effect. If you need a Bible app that you can read to your children or simply experience something different for yourself, this is worth checking out.
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PocketSword Bible Study
by Nic Carter
PocketSword is a simple, no-nonsense Bible reader that offers a solid set of e-reading features. The interface however isn’t very intuitive from a study and work-flow perspective. Where most Bible reading apps have tried to mimic the interface of iBooks for an easy transition, PocketSword relies on a lower tab bar for navigation. It is, however, highly expandable in that it offers 60+ translations for download, as well as a variety of other commentaries and resources.