When comparing Google Play Books vs ReadEra, the Slant community recommends ReadEra for most people. In the question“What are the best eBook readers on Android?” ReadEra is ranked 4th while Google Play Books is ranked 12th.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Allows bookmarking pages, highlighting text, and adding notes
Google Play Books offers many options while reading such as bookmarks, highlights and notes. Making for a good app to use for academic .pdfs and .epubs.
Pro Supports PDF & EPUB uploads
Users can use the Google Play Books webpage or app to upload their own .epubs or PDFs.
Pro Built-in dictionary
Google Play Books has an inbuilt dictionary for users to use to look up unfamiliar words.
Pro Font, font-size, layout and theme can be customized
Margins, text size, line spacing and color theme of the page can be changed to the users liking,.
Pro Syncs across devices
No matter what device one is using the Google Play Books service on it will sync all eBooks and placement into the cloud.
Pro Immersive mode
Google Play Books has built in immersive mode when reading. This allows for the navigation and notification bars to be hidden, allowing the full screen to be used for the eBook.
Pro Responsive interface
Like the majority of Google's apps, Google Play Books has a slick interface that works quite smoothly.
Pro Has light and dark themes
Google Play Books offers a dark and a light theme to make it easier to read in dark or light rooms.
Pro Books can be bought or rented directly from the app
Google Play Books has an in built eBook store within the app, making for a convenient way to purchase titles.
Pro Has text-to-speech support
Text to speech can be used to have an eBook read to the reader aloud.
Pro Open and read book files in EPUB, PDF, DOC, RTF, TXT, DJVU, FB2, MOBI and CHM formats
Pro Very fast
Pro Completely free, no ads anywhere and anytime
Pro Supports chapters, bookmarks and page style
Pro Supports TTS
Pro Attractive interface
Looks well made and not just a txt editor or something.
Pro Kids mode
Makes it easier for kids to use the app.
Cons
Con Lacks library management features
No shelves, categories, or reading lists.
Con External SD card
Google play books doesn't have the ability to save the downloaded books to an external SD card.
Con No light mode
No light mode for the menu. Unusable if you have astigmatism.
Con Not many settings
Con Slow animations
Con Image sizing is wrong compared to other readers
Con Images aren't has sharp as other readers
Images don't look like they are supposed to unless you full screen the image.