VLC Media Player, the popular free and open source media player, has just released version 2.5 of its Android application. As always there are no advertisements, no in-app purchases, and no restrictions. The last official, stable update was released back in August 2016. Over a year later, the update adds a plethora of new features but has the wait been worth it?
Notable new features include 360° video support (meaning you can wave your phone around like a maniac to watch a video in public if you want), Android Auto integration, Picture in Picture mode support on Android Oreo, double tap to seek video, audio boost, built in equalizer, and support for the VP8/9/10 video codecs. Playback related additions and changes include HDMI passthrough support, AVI support, and improved H264, MP4V, and HEVC playback.
With this update comes also an offering of an improved experience for Android enabled smart TVs. The improved TV integration in VLC with picture in picture mode is greatly appreciated.
These changes are designed to open up VLC to a greater diversity of content playability. With VP9 and 360° videos growing in popularity, the ability to play these files becomes more of a necessity than a luxury. VP9 offers greater compression for a low loss of quality.
Note that while it took a long time to update, there are nightly builds which add new features and functionality. You can simply look to those if you want to try the latest and greatest, but be warned that these builds may be unstable and will lack support if you run into a problem.
So was the wait worth it? With the amazing amount of features and changes, it's hard to say it wasn't. The added features alone justify giving this media player another try, so we recommend you check it out if you thought it was previously inadequate.
VLC for Android (Free, Google Play) →
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