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Updates at YouVersion.com Website Reflect Most Common User Requests

In 2012, we introduced the all-new YouVersion.com, re-imagining it with most of the same features you already loved from the mobile versions of the Bible App. But even then, we knew we wanted it to do more. As the YouVersion community began letting us know which features they wanted to see there, we were taking notes. Today, we’re pleased to announce the first batch of upgrades to YouVersion.com.

(By the way, did you know that you can get this same YouVersion Bible reading experience — along with all your notes and stored information — at Bible.com? Try it!)

Bible Plans in the Reader. While previous versions of YouVersion.com displayed your Plans in a separate Reading Plan view—with limited functionality—now it shows them in the main Bible Reader panel, with complete access to Bible text, highlights, sharing, and anything else you might need.

Enhanced Bible Reader Settings. Speaking of Bible Reader functionality, you have more options than ever for customizing your reading. Just click the gear icon at the top of the Bible Reader panel. You could already choose your font face and size. Now you can also show or hide Footnotes, Highlights, and Cross References. It’s easy!

Search as you type Book/Chapter. To switch books or chapters, click the current book name. Then just start typing whatever you’re looking for, and YouVersion.com immediately narrows your choices for you!

Search as you type Version. Just like book/chapter, when you click your current version, start typing the name, abbreviation, or language of any version you want, and your choices will begin to narrow. If you know the version you want to switch to, now you can get there with little or no scrolling.

Smarter search. Type a reference into Search—say, Ephesians 2—and Search takes you directly there.

Better linking. If you click on a link to a specific passage or type it into Search—let’s say, Romans 8:37-39—YouVersion.com jumps you straight to the first verse in that passage (rather than to the beginning of the chapter)…even selecting it for you!

Faster Parallel Load. Even in the first release of YouVersion.com, clicking the Parallel button at the top of the Bible Reader panel displayed two Bible versions side-by-side. We’ve tweaked this feature to make the primary version you’re studying load even faster.

Publisher Details. YouVersion can only offer hundreds of Bible versions—in dozens of languages—through the generous partnership of Bible publishers. Now it’s easier than ever to find out more about your favorite Bible versions. At the bottom of the Bible Reader panel, click “Learn More” to see links to publishers’ websites, other versions available from this same publisher, and copyright details.

Ask your friends to try out YouVersion and Bible.com. Always 100% free, it’s now better than ever. It’s our pleasure to keep improving your Bible reading experiences with YouVersion, no matter how you choose to connect!

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Bible App for iOS Adds More Offline Features, Thai Language Support

The new version of the Bible App™ for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch — version 4.2 — is available now in the iTunes App Store. Since many of you use the Bible App during times when you don’t have a mobile signal or Internet connection, one of the most frequent requests from the YouVersion community has been to make more of our features available offline. We think you’ll find a lot to love in this latest update:

Enhanced Offline Experience. We’ve added offline capabilities to most of your favorite features, like Reading Plans, Notes, and even your customized Today view! We’ve also improved the display of your list of downloaded Bible Versions when you’re offline. Now the Bible App for iOS stores information for all of these things locally on your device, only syncing with your online account in the background once you’re connected again. Add new Notes and keep up on your Reading Plans, anytime, anywhere — even when you can’t get a signal!

Better Bookmarking. Bookmarks still work the way you’re used to. Just tap a verse or passage you want to share, memorize, or study to Bookmark it. But we’ve added the ability to edit your Bookmarks, so you can keep them organized just how you like.

In-App Password Change. You’ve always been able to sign in and out from inside the Bible App, but if you wanted to update your password, you had to visit YouVersion.com. Not anymore! Now, for the first time ever, you can change your password directly from the Bible App on your device.

Thai Language Support. You probably know that YouVersion offers Bible versions in more than 200 languages. But did you know that, thanks to an awesome worldwide community of YouVersion translation volunteers, you can also set the Bible App’s interface on your Apple device—menus, buttons, and controls—to display in any of 31 languages? Simply go to Settings, General, and pick your favorite, or change the default language for your device. Thai is a brand new addition to YouVersion’s interface language offerings, available first on iOS in this release (and coming soon to more platforms)!

Bug Fixes and Performance Enhancements. As always, for each new release of the Bible App for iOS, we take the opportunity to make several improvements and adjustments. While our community lets us know about issues through our Support website, our own testing and development often reveal things we can do to make your overall YouVersion experience better.

Be sure to let your friends know about this latest update to the Bible App for iOS, especially if they speak Thai! And come see us on Facebook and Twitter. We love hearing from you!

For users interested in understanding our strategy in regards to iPhone 5, please read this blog post. 

Get Your Bible App Update Now:

If you already have the Bible App installed:

  1. On your Apple device, tap the App Store icon.
  2. When the App Store opens, tap the Updates icon.
  3. Tap Update for the Bible App.
    OR
    Tap Update All.

If this is your first time installing the Bible App:

  1. On your Apple device, tap the App Store icon.
  2. When the App Store opens, tap the Search icon.
  3. Search for “Bible”.
  4. Tap the Bible App from LifeChurch.tv.
  5. Tap the FREE button.
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Bible App for Android Phones Gets a Makeover

Some major enhancements have just arrived in the Bible App™ for Android Phones. While different mobile platforms offer unique approaches for completing all your tasks, we want to give you a consistent experience with YouVersion, no matter what device you’re using. The Bible App for Android Phones is now faster and easier to use, complemented by a whole set of slick new features. You can get this latest update to the Bible App for Android in the Google Play Store. (Of course, we plan to bring all of these great new enhancements to the Bible App for Android Tablets soon.) In the meantime, here’s what’s new to love on the Bible App for Android:

Slide Out Menu. Get instant access to all of the Bible App’s features, now just one tap away. On any Bible App screen on your Android phone, touch the menu icon at the top to see the full Bible App menu: Reader, Plans, Bookmarks, Notes, Share…and more!

Available Actions Popup. Wherever you are, when you tap a verse, a handy context-sensitive menu now pops up, with icons for everything you could do with that verse. Tap the verse, then tap what you want to do. It’s fast and easy.

Today View. At the top of the slide out menu, you’ll find the “Today” view option, brand new to Android phones. Today displays the Verse of the Day (ready to share), along with one-tap access to a list of other common tasks: the last passage you were reading, today’s readings for all your active Plans, and the last passage you bookmarked. Taking you immediately to the things that matter to you the most, in this release of the Bible App for Android, the Today view is the new default home screen. (You can change this in your Settings at any time, of course.)

Cleaner Interface. We’ve tried to make your entire YouVersion experience on your Android phone more pleasant all around, with subtle tweaks that make it not just easier to use, but even nicer to look at. When you tap a verse, it displays with a dotted underline to show what you’ve selected. The icons for switching chapters are cleaner and more simplified, as are the audio player icons. While we’ve long offered settings like font, text size, and brightness adjustment to make your reading easier, now you can get to them directly from the Bible reader.

Of course, the most important thing the Bible App has always offered is free Bibles, thanks to our generous publisher partners. The Bible App now has more Bible versions than ever, with hundreds of Bibles in many languages. To learn how you can get the most of the Bible App on your Android device, be sure to check out our Help website.

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Optimized Layout Debuts in Latest Bible App for iPad Update

Yesterday we shared several of the new features that the latest Bible App™ update brought to all Apple devices we support: iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. But we radically updated the Bible App for iPad specifically to take full advantage of all that this remarkable device has to offer. Get the latest release of the Bible App for your iPad now in the iTunes App Store. Here’s some of what we think you’re going to love about the new Bible App on your iPad:

Complete Slide Out Menu. Instant access to all of the Bible App’s features is now just one tap away, no matter where you are. The slide out menu is a new addition to the Bible App on all iOS devices, but on iPad, it gives you everything. On any screen, just touch the menu icon at the top to display the full Bible App menu. Bookmarks, Notes, Share, Plans—it’s all there… and more. Try it!

Today View. Also in the Bible App on other iOS devices, the top of the slide out menu includes Today, which displays a Verse of the Day, ready to share. But you also get more—a lot more. More screen real estate means we can bring you one-tap access to your Profile settings, the last passage you were reading, today’s readings for all your active Plans, even the last passage you bookmarked.

Parallel Reading Mode. Truly make the most of your iPad’s beautiful screen. In landscape mode, with just one tap, you can display any two Bible versions you want side by side. Reading different versions in the Bible App—and now, even comparing them to each other—has never been easier. This feature is available only on iPad. (Well, and at YouVersion.com, as we shared with you several days ago.)

Of course, all of the features you’ve already been enjoying in the Bible App for iPad—like full-screen reading mode, audio Bibles, Bookmarks, Notes, Sharing, and YouVersion Live, to name just a few—are still there. But tap around and explore. And be sure you read yesterday’s announcement. As always, you can get learn more about most features at our Support website. Also, be sure you come and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Instructions for how to get yours are below the image:

Update Your Bible App on iPad Now:

If you already have the Bible App installed:

  1. On your iPad, tap the App Store icon.
  2. When the App Store opens, tap the Updates icon.
  3. Tap Update for the Bible App.
    OR
    Tap Update All.


If this is your first time installing the Bible App:

  1. On your iPad, tap the App Store icon.
  2. When the App Store opens, tap the Search icon.
  3. Search for “Bible”.
  4. Tap the Bible App from LifeChurch.tv.
  5. Tap the FREE button.
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Updated Bible App for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch Adds New Features

Today we’re excited to announce a dramatic new update to some core features of the Bible App™ for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch—available now in the iTunes App Store. We’ve been listening to your feedback. (And we’ve been experimenting some on our own.) We’ve poured a crazy amount of work into the latest enhancements for the Bible App for iOS. We think you’re really going to enjoy what you find here:

Slide Out Menu. (Pictured) Just tap the menu icon at the top for quick access to those Bible App features you use most: Bible, Plans, Bookmarks, Notes, and more. Just one more tap takes you anywhere you want to go, including the all-new Today view…

Today View. (Pictured) Right at the top of the new slide out menu, Today displays the brand new, easy-to-share Verse of the Day, the last passage you were reading, the new Profile viewer (described below), and links to today’s readings for all of your active Plans.

Profile Viewer. Now you can review and adjust most of your account settings on a single screen. Specify the name your account will display, change your profile picture, or update your contact information. Even browse your Friends’ profiles and the profiles of the people following you.

Bug Fixes. We addressed some specific issues related to audio Bibles and made a few other adjustments. And with this release (as always), we tweaked the Bible App to enhance performance wherever we could.

Offline WiFi Downloads. If new updates are available for any offline versions you’ve already downloaded, the Bible App checks to see if you’re connected to WiFi. If you are—assuming you have this handy feature activated—the Bible App will automatically update your versions for you, completely in the background. You don’t have to do anything, and you’ll always have the latest versions of all your offline Bibles.

You’ll find all of these features in the new Bible App update on all Apple devices we support: iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. But tomorrow, we’ll share some sweet tweaks we added to help you get even more out of your Bible App experience on iPad. In the meantime, consider visiting YouVersion’s Support website to make sure that the Bible App on your device is doing everything it can. And once you’ve tried out the new Bible App, please let us know what you think on Facebook and Twitter!

Whatever iOS (Apple) device you have, instructions for how you can get your Bible App update are below.

Get Your Bible App Update Now:

If you already have the Bible App installed:

  1. On your Apple device, tap the App Store icon.
  2. When the App Store opens, tap the Updates icon.
  3. Tap Update for the Bible App.
    OR
    Tap Update All.


If this is your first time installing the Bible App:

  1. On your Apple device, tap the App Store icon.
  2. When the App Store opens, tap the Search icon.
  3. Search for “Bible”.
  4. Tap the Bible App from LifeChurch.tv.
  5. Tap the FREE button.