VLC v2.5 Update Brings a New Dynamic UI, PiP Mode, and More

It has been well over a year since jack-of-all-trades media player VLC last received an update. This week, though, the developers announced a new version — version 2.5 — with user interface (UI) tweaks and new features.

The core of the updates changes are user-facing. The application’s gained picture-in-picture mode support on Android Oreo devices, which activates automatically when you start a video in VLC and press your phone’s home button. And the Android TV interface’s been updated — the background’s now filled with blurred TV and movie posters from your library.

But that’s not all that’s changed. The team decided to ditch the application’s card view interface in favor of a flatter, cleaner “dynamic UI” design, and as part of the refactoring, the app’s hierarchical menus — i.e., the Audio, Video, and History tabs — have been reworked slightly. They’re now a lot easier to navigate, and let you start playlists by selecting multiple items at the same time.

VLC’s new Dynamic UI

The new VLC also packs new sort options, a new info page, and a revamped audio player that shows blurred album artwork of any in-progress song. It’s compatible with Android Auto, and taps into Android Auto’s voice actions (you can say something like, “play Daft Punk with VLC”). It’s on Chrome OS support, and can play back 360-degree video formats. And it has a new “split search” mode that makes sifting through your media less of a chore than it used to be.

Here’s what else is new:

• DayNight mode integration

• Audio boost in video

• Equalizer custom presets

• Save and resume position for podcasts & audiobooks

• Restored double/long click on remote play to skip songs

• Removed sound lowering on notification

• Force previous song on audioplayer swipe

• Fix audioplayer layout for black theme and RTL

• Save subtitles delay and optionally audio delay for each file.

• Support for devices with large aspect ratio, like G6 and S8 phones

That’s only a small sampling of version 2.5’s changes. For a deeper dive, check out the source link.