Installing and updating

Where to get Zen Reader on each device, and how updates reach you.

This page is readable without signing in, so you can set a device up before your first sign-in.

Everything starts at the download page. Whether a particular device can run Zen Reader at all is on the system requirements page — that is the one place those versions are kept, so it is always the current answer.

Windows

The Windows app is a normal signed download — the .NET runtime and everything else it needs are bundled in, so there is nothing to install first.

The first time you use offline reading, the built-in voice or Chinese text recognition, Zen Reader downloads the model it needs. Expect a few hundred megabytes of storage to be used at that point, once, and allow a little time on a slow connection.

Mac

The Mac app is a notarised installer package, downloaded from the same page. Open the .pkg and follow the prompts.

iPhone and iPad

Zen Reader is on TestFlight while we are in testing, and on the App Store once we launch publicly. The download page always links to whichever applies.

Android

Zen Reader is on Google Play — search for it there, or use the link on the download page.

Updates

Windows and Mac update themselves. Zen Reader checks once each time it starts, and you can check whenever you like from Settings → About → Check for updates. When an update is found, the app tells you what changed and asks before installing. On Windows it closes, installs and reopens itself; on Mac it downloads the installer and opens it for you.

Phones and tablets update through the store. The App Store and Google Play handle it — turn on automatic updates there and you will not have to think about it.

You can see what shipped in each version on the changelog.

Using it on more than one device

One family account covers every device — sign in with the same email on each. Your library, your children's work and your reports all sync, so a book added on a laptop is on the tablet a moment later.

There is a limit on how many devices one person may be signed in on at once. If you hit it, Zen Reader says "You've reached the device limit for this account" — open Settings → Manage devices, remove one you no longer use, and sign in again.