VLC media player for iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS just announced a major update it is rolling out today for all users.
VLC Stories March 21
VLC Stories February 16, 2021
We learned recently that VLC was getting a significant update, with an all-new and more modern VLC 4 user interface. But a sneak peek at the Linux version unfortunately doesn’t look good.
It does indeed look more modern (seen next to the current UI on the left), but it appears to be trying an iOS-like approach to simplicity…
VLC Stories February 12, 2021
VLC is one of the most popular video apps because it will play just about any format you throw at it. Fans will be pleased to hear that VLC 4 will bring a more modern look to the app in the coming months.
The team behind it is also considering the possibility of adopting a Plex-style business model to secure the future of the app, and is planning a moonshot – literally …
VLC Stories January 18, 2021
VLC is one of the most popular multi-platform media players, and its macOS version is getting a major update today with full support for M1 Macs. Users can now enjoy VLC running at maximum performance on Apple Silicon Macs.
VLC Stories January 10, 2019
VLC, the popular open source video and audio client, may be surpassing 3 billion downloads soon. VLC also looks to be supporting AirPlay on Android in a future update. expand full story
VLC Stories July 18, 2018
VLC for iPhone and iPad updated to support 360 video, Chromecast, more
VLC has today updated its app on iOS with a handful of new features. Today’s update brings the app to version 3.1.0 and includes several long-awaited features sure to please users…
VLC Stories February 19, 2018
VLCKit 3.0 adds support for H.265, better 4K memory management, and 3D video
Today’s VLCKit 3.0 update from the developer of the popular VLC Media Player brings a number of enhancements to the framework for apps on iOS, tvOS, and macOS. This is the first major update for the framework in over three years.
VLC Stories December 8, 2017
VideoLAN has released a new version of its VLC for Mobile app that adds improved support for Apple’s latest hardware and software.
Version 2.8.6 includes adjustments to the user interface on the taller, 5.8-inch iPhone X OLED display. The latest version also includes “full support” for 4K videos formatted in HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) which Apple has embraced to limit file sizes on ultra high-definition videos.
VLC Stories November 25, 2016
VLC media player preview brings 360-degree video playback to the Mac, iOS support expected next year
You can now experience 360-degree video playback easily on your Mac with the popular VLC Media Player app. VideoLAN has released the first preview version of VLC 3.0 which includes support for watching immersive spherical videos on macOS.
VLC Stories June 8, 2016
How to watch Apple’s WWDC 2016 keynote live stream on Windows or Android
Apple last night confirmed it will live stream the opening press event for its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, but the stream is limited to certain devices. The company will stream the event to iPhone, iPad, and Mac users via its Safari browser, and to Apple TV users, and it’s also recently added support for Windows 10 via Microsoft Edge.
VLC Stories January 12, 2016
After a false start late last month, VLC for Mobile has now arrived on the new Apple TV. VideoLAN officially announced the new Apple TV version of the VLC media player app, which it calls “a full port of VLC media player combined with platform specific features.” VLC enables unsupported media formats to be played on Apple products including the new Apple TV for the first time.
VLC Stories December 22, 2015
VLC media app gains Split Screen + Touch ID features on iOS, much more
[Update: VLC incorrectly included Apple TV support in today’s release notes. That release is coming “very soon” but not available today. The iOS/watchOS updates are out today.]
[Update 1/12/2016: VLC for Apple TV is now available.]
The popular VLC app for playing a variety of media formats not supported by iTunes has now made its way to the new Apple TV. We heard in September that VLC for Apple TV was in the works, and last month the team started accepting beta testers. Today VLC for Mobile delivered a major update that includes the first Apple TV version as well as a handful of new features on iPhones and iPads.
VLC Stories November 9, 2015
Just a week after Plex released its official app for the fourth-generation Apple TV, popular media player VLC has today announced that it is looking for beta testers for its app. Details on the app’s features are still sparse, but we can only assume that it will let you play all sorts of media formats on the device.
VLC Stories September 14, 2015
Hot on the heels of Plex announcing its plans to build an app for the new Apple TV, the developers behind the popular media playback software VLC have announced that they too are planning to support the new Apple TV. While details on the app are sparse at this point, the VLC team announced in a blog post that they have started work on VLCKit for tvOS.
VLC Stories June 30, 2015
VLC for iOS gets Apple Watch support for playback controls & library browsing, new mini-player, more
Popular medial player VLC for iOS today gets a notable update that brings support for Apple Watch alongside other new features and a long list of improvements and fixes.
VLC Stories March 9, 2015
How to watch Apple’s Spring Forward event livestream on Windows (and Android)
Officially, Apple’s event livestream only works with Safari on Mac OS X, iPhones, iPads, Apple TV (where the channel just appeared) and iPod touch. However, if you are on Windows (or even Android) — there is a workaround if you want to follow along with the announcements. (This trick will also work if you happen to be using an older version of OS X or iOS 6 that QuickTime Player doesn’t support)
VLC Stories February 27, 2015
VideoLAN has today launched several updates to VLC across its apps on iOS, Android, OS X, and every other platform where the app is available, marking the first time that the company has pushed such a massive coordinated release and the re-release of the iOS app. The new versions (with the main app numbered 2.2.0), include several features across the various platforms, and VLC says it took more than a year of volunteer work to put them together…
VLC Stories February 17, 2015
VLC 3.0 will gain support for Chromecast streaming from iOS devices and Macs
The popular VLC media player will be upgraded to version 3.0 soon, introducing a whole host of features to the software, including support for Google’s Chromecast streaming device. The change was mentioned in a VLC change log on the VideoLan website.
VLC for iOS was recently re-added to the App Store after being pulled several times for licensing issues and other problems.
Chromecast support in VLC will allow users to stream their stored media to their TVs from supported devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Android devices and computers running Windows are also expected to get the upgrade.
VideoLan, the development company behind VLC, hasn’t announced the availability date for version 3.0 yet. You can grab the current version of the iOS app from the iTunes App Store.
VLC Stories February 16, 2015
The VLC for iOS app–a favorite media player for many–has returned to the App Store in some countries and is expected to be available for all shortly. Some existing US users (us included!) are also reporting on Reddit being able to update to the latest version (2.4.1) if they have the previous version from before it was removed.
The app has something of a checkered history in the App Store, first removed from the store way back in 2011 after a licensing dispute; the original open-source developers claiming that the App Store terms were incompatible with the GNU Public License for the code. The app finally returned in 2013 before disappearing once more last September … expand full story
VLC Stories May 29, 2014
Up until now most retailers have been deploying Apple’s iBeacon technology by purchasing small standalone Bluetooth beacons or using iPad terminals that act as beacons. Now, GE is introducing its next-generation LED light fixture that packs in a combo Bluetooth LE/Visual Light Communication chip for iBeacon functionality allowing retailers to cut costs and avoid purchasing standalone beacons from a company like Estimote. It’s already got one massive customer about to roll out the iBeacon lighting fixtures: Walmart announced back in April (before iBeacon support was announced) that it plans to roll out these same new GE lighting fixtures to stores worldwide as part of its switch to LED. expand full story
VLC Stories January 20, 2014
VLC for iOS redesigned for iOS 7, now features Google Drive & Dropbox streaming, more
VLC released an update to its iOS app today introducing an iOS 7-friendly user interface as well as several handy features.
Users will welcome support for streaming media from both Dropbox and Google Drive; previously, VLC required content to be downloaded locally in its entirety before it could be viewed. This will greatly speed up media viewing. The update also features a list of other improvements including new gestures and more.
VLC for iOS is available for free on the App Store.
VLC Stories September 26, 2013
VideoLAN has released version 2.1 of its popular open source video player, VLC. The update — codenamed “Ricewind” — brings new audio processing to the app, to improve both processing performance and audio fidelity. There is full support for surround sound outputs in addition to new effects and many new supported metadata formats for audio.
On the video side, the app has ported the OpenGL output to OpenGL ES, making ports to iOS and Android much easier. Notably, VideoLAN says that VLC is now ready for Ultra-HD content (otherwise known as 4K). The app update has also focused heavily on improving MKV compatibility, including better seek performance and subtitle metadata support.
VLC Stories September 6, 2013
VLC for iOS updated with improved international support, FTP server discovery
VideoLAN’s VLC application for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch has been updated with some significant enhancements. Notably, the version 2.1 release includes improved international support. This includes subtitle options for non-western languages, and localization to the following languages: Bosnian, Catalan, Galician, Greek, Marathi, Portuguese, Slovenian.
Improvements are present for subtitles, VoiceOver, Accessibility, video output, and password locking.
In terms of new features, audio-only playback is now supported. Additionally, FTP server discovery for streaming and downloading, UPNP network compatibility, and improved Bonjour featured are present in the update.
VideoLAN tells us that the launch version had 2.5 million downloads during the first week of availability. The update is available for free on the App Store.
VLC Stories July 18, 2013
VLC returns to the App Store after two year hiatus
After a nasty licensing issue that broke out in 2011, VLC was removed from the App Store. Today, the media player is destined to make a comeback, complete with new features like WiFi content uploading, which makes it even easier for you to get content from your desktop to the app on your iOS device.
In some sense, this app may be too little too late, as the trend toward video streaming has increased tremendously over the past few years. Going through all of the effort to transfer your videos from your computer to phone/tablet may not be worth it. However, users who are going to be without an internet connection for some time – or those with low data caps – will find the new VLC app quite useful.
From our own Benjamin Mayo:
Although I greatly appreciate the engineering effort necessary to make the decoding process multithreaded, a big boon for multicore iOS devices, the app’s UI still leaves much to be desired.
Expect the app to appear in the App Store shortly.
Update: It’s out now.
