DEV Community: Nicolas POMEPUY

VLC for Android 3.7.0

Nicolas POMEPUY — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 08:57:06 +0000

Here is the complete changelog for this new update of VLC 3 for Android.

New equalizer

The main feature of this release is a brand new equalizer, completely rewritten from scratch.

This new version is:

Easier to use
More reliable
Automatically saving your changes

You can now disable the default equalizer values, giving you full control over your sound customization.

Whether you want stronger bass, clearer vocals or a fully custom profile, the new equalizer makes audio tuning simpler and more flexible than ever.

Better settings import and export

We improved the backup system to make it more complete and more reliable.

Settings export now:

Includes equalizer values
Backs up more app preferences than before

This makes it easier to move your configuration between devices or restore everything after reinstalling the app.

⚠️ Please note: old backups are no longer compatible.

You will need to export your settings again. The app will notify you if needed.

Support for 16 KB page size

This release adds support for the 16 KB native library alignment requirement.

You can learn more about this Android platform change here:

https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/page-sizes

This ensures better compatibility with newer Android versions and future devices.

Improved subtitle search

We improved the subtitle search feature to provide:

Better matching results
More accurate suggestions

Finding the right subtitles for your videos should now be faster and more reliable.

Other improvements

As always, this release also includes various fixes and performance improvements to keep VLC stable and smooth on your device.

If you want to join the beta, click here. Happy testing!

VLC for Android 3.6.0

Nicolas POMEPUY — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 08:06:08 +0000

Here is the complete changelog for this 6th update of VLC 3.

Remote access

The main feature of this release is the ability to remotely control VLC for Android.

When activated, the Remote access will give you an URL that you can browse with another device.

From this website, you will be able to do a lot!

Browse your media, files and network

If allowed in the app, you can browse all your content.

Control your playback

You can also launch a playback and then control it from your other device.

Share files

The remote access also allows you to share files between your two devices:

Security

This feature has been created with security in mind. The server is accessible through a one time password provided by the app, has a secure connection, and you decide what is accessible!

For a technical explanation, you can take a look at https://docs.videolan.me/vlc-user/android/3.X/en/more/remoteaccess/remote_access_ssl.html

Much more

You can do many other things with this remote control. You can, for example, retrieve the app's logs, set a sleep timer, create playlists, ...

Feel free to experiment!

Media favorites

You can now put your media or media groups in your favorites.

By doing so, your media will get a marker.

You can also filter the list to only show your favorites.

Parental control

When you hand your device to someone else, you may want to prevent them to do destructive actions.

The parental control let you setup a PIN code that will be asked any time a risky action is done.

Other changes

We made a lot of improvements in the app:

Warning/blocker for metered connections to prevent using your data
Long press to increase the playback speed in the video player
A lot of fixes on the playback behavior, especially in Picture in Picture mode
All the display settings are now grouped in a dedicated panel
Android Auto new settings
Some UI improvements and crash fixes

If you want to join the beta, click here. Happy testing!

VLC for Android 3.5.5

Nicolas POMEPUY — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 05:39:03 +0000

Back in March, we announced that VLC for Android's releases were blocked by Google Play.

We are glad to announce that we were able to fix it with Google.

This fix comes with a constraint though. To be able start releasing new versions again, we have to "clean" our Google Play state.

That's why, starting today, you will receive an "empty" 3.5.5 release.

This new version won't have any new feature or bug fixes but will allow us to start a new beta round in the next few days. Stay tuned!

VLC for Android updates on the Play Store

Nicolas POMEPUY — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 08:37:51 +0000

We recently explained why VLC for Android has not been updated in months on the Play Store.

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In this post, I'll try to give some technical insights on why it's happening and what is our position.

Signing Android apps

Since the first release of Android, any app has to be installed using an APK file. This file contains all of the code of the app as well as resources (icons, translations, ...) and any other data needed for the app to work.

To verify the authenticity of an APK file, it has to be signed. To do so, the developer has to generate a private key and use it to sign the APK. When done, anybody can verify the public key used to sign this file.



nicolas@Azabuntu:~/Downloads$ apksigner verify --print-certs -v VLC-Android-3.5.4-arm64-v8a.apk 
Verifies
Verified using v1 scheme (JAR signing): true
Verified using v2 scheme (APK Signature Scheme v2): true
Verified using v3 scheme (APK Signature Scheme v3): true
Number of signers: 1
Signer #1 certificate DN: CN=Jean-Baptiste Kempf, O=VideoLAN Mobile, L=Paris, C=FR
Signer #1 certificate SHA-256 digest: c8768d2cea0c4b622e419b4b4715981946821e4ebc035fb41776cad395a7f68e
Signer #1 certificate SHA-1 digest: eefbc981428343bbddfff6b23b6bd8717351410c
Signer #1 certificate MD5 digest: 511fea1a22a7b62ebc01950c167c0406
Signer #1 key algorithm: RSA
Signer #1 key size (bits): 2048
Signer #1 public key SHA-256 digest: 0635a5fd15a4d1d70144357032506db52f5729440a597f1d492af3cd4b5d3990
Signer #1 public key SHA-1 digest: 7f98ab01f137803044707b8468c6a1747e0a396d
Signer #1 public key MD5 digest: e017420d81c24adf81ddbcafa67d7a11

When Android tries to update an already installed app, it will verify that the old and new signatures match before allowing the update and throw an error otherwise.



adb: failed to install VLC-Android-3.6.0-Beta-2-all.apk: Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE: Existing package org.videolan.vlc signatures do not match newer version; ignoring!]

The application developers then have some obligations:

avoid losing the signing certificate
protect the certificate from any leak (by protecting it with a password, or storing it in a HSM, etc.)

If they lose their certificate or passwords, they won't be able to do any other release as Android will refuse to update their app with a different signature.

If they communicate their certificate and passwords to someone else, the third party will be able to sign their own version of the app and Android will consider it as legitimate.

App bundles

A few years ago, Google announced a new way to package an Android app. It's called an App Bundle.

It's a compressed file also containing everything that is needed for the app to work, but that cannot be installed as is. To install it, the bundle has to be converted to an APK.

The goal is to be able to generate different APK files depending on the device specific features from the same App Bundle. That way, the release won't have the same content if you generate an APK for an Android 4.2 device with a x86 CPU versus if you do it for an Android 14 device with an arm64 CPU. The installation then uses less storage than before as the final APk file will only contain the needed parts.

Release workflow on the Play Store

At VideoLAN, we already split our APK files depending on the device CPU arch. As we rely on pretty heavy native code (libvlc), it guarantees that the APK size will be as limited as possible. Currently, an APK containing all arch will be 125MB while its ARM64 only version will be only 45MB.

Release workflow using APKs

Release workflow using App Bundle

Workflow differences

The huge difference here is the App Bundle workflow uses two signing keys.

The upload key allows the Play Store to verify that the uploader is legitimate.
the release key is then used and detained by the Play Store

Consequences

The Play Store is signing the app on behalf of VideoLAN in this workflow.

The Play Store has to detain VideoLAN's private key and passwords to be able to do so.

Mitigations

Google is probably aware that asking the developers their signing private key is a bad practice, especially for already years old keys used for older apps.

To mitigate that, the Play Store proposes a mitigation called "dual release". Newest versions of Android (starting with Android 11) indeed allows updating an app with a different signature, as long as a proof of rotation is included.

The dual release workflow is then:

Play Store rules

While all the above explanations are technical, the Play Store rules are a significant part of why we are now in a dead end.

In 2021, Google announced that releasing using App Bundles will be mandatory for new apps starting from August 2021.

Old apps were (and still are) able to use the old workflow to release, so it didn't affect us.

They then made using App Bundles mandatory for any app including Android TV support.

What seems to be a small change has a huge impact on VLC for Android.

A dead end

As said before, the mitigation that makes sending our private key to Google is called dual release and will depend on the user's device Android version.

As App Bundles are mandatory for TV apps, dual release is not available anymore for apps supporting Android older than 11 and providing TV features.

History of Android TV support in VLC for Android

When Google provided some tools (called leanback) to let developer create TV apps, we decided not to do a dedicated app for Android TV. It had multiple advantages:

Only one app to update
Allow the user to switch to the TV interface even on non-TV devices

This latest point was (and still is) really important. A lot of manufacturers released devices that were meant to be used with a remote controller DPAD without being specifically Android TV devices. By allowing the user to directly switch to the TV interface, it made it much more easy to use for those devices.

The different alternatives we have

► Send our release private key to the Play Store

Pros: we can release without disturbance of any kind
Cons: Google detains our private key

► Remove the TV support in the APKs we send to the Play Store

Pros: Google doesn't know our private key, we delegate the signature only for installation on Android 11 and newer
Cons: no TV support under Android 11

► Start only sending App Bundles

Pros: none
Cons: makes the app technically only support Android 11 and later (About 30% of our users)

Our position

Sending Google our private signing key is a no-go. That's the first rule of security: your private key has to stay... private.

The Play Store is not the only ecosystem using APKs. We also provide VLC for Android through other means (our website, Amazon AppStore, Huawei AppGalery) and giving our key to Google would compromise our entire release workflow.

Once that's said, there is unfortunately no solution left to provide TV support on Android 10 and less which is why we weren't able to release in the past months.

What's new on VLC for Android 3.5

Nicolas POMEPUY — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 05:12:49 +0000

Here is the complete changelog for this 5th update of VLC 3.

New features

New widgets

The widgets have been completely reworked.

They came in different flavors depending on their sizes.

They also are now heavily customizable.

And they support Material You (or the artwork palette) colors.

You can also create home screen shortcuts directly from your medias.

Reworked audio list, album view and about screen

A lot of polish has been applied to numerous screens, notably audio the album screen that now displays more information.

The about screen is also clearer.

Player customization

You can now fully customize the player experience by picking the features you need and customizing your seek delays.

Improved tablet and foldable devices support

The app has now a dedicated navigation for large screens.

The video player also detects your device's form factor and adapts to it.

VLC for Android

@vlc_android

Here is a snapshot of how VLC for Android adapts to your foldable device.

07:26 AM - 20 Jul 2022

The video size is now changed when you fold your device and takes your notch into account. You can also opt out of these size changes.

Network indexation

You can now index files from samba shares.

When doing so, you will get your network files in the video and audio screens of the app.

Improvements

Improved accessibility

A lot of work as been done to make the app usable for visually impaired people. A special thanks goes to the Valentin Haüy association for helping us with this!

Video player performances

It is now using less resources and improve the experience on lower end (or older) devices.

Permission explanations

Android has yet again changed the way file permission work, and we had to adapt to these changes. The welcome screen now better explains exactly the different permission levels are and what you will be able to do (or not).

No permission: You won't be able to auto-discover your media. You will be able to only play streams or network media
Standard Android permission: You will only be able to auto-discover standard media files
Manage all files: You will be able to auto-discover all your files to play all types of media even weird ones, or compressed files

Under the hood

A lot of work has also been done to improve VLC's stability and to fix bad behaviors.

What's new on VLC for Android 3.4

Nicolas POMEPUY — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 09:38:42 +0000

This major release is the fourth update of VLC 3.

New features

Bookmarks

You can add bookmarks to your media. It's really useful for your podcasts, audiobooks or even your courses.

Permissions

It's now possible to use VLC without granting it the file permission. If you're only watching streams or network media, you can now use it!

Interface changes

Improved audio player

The audio player has been given some love! This new modern design puts the content at the center.

Improved first experience

We improved the onboarding experience with a clearer workflow.

We also added a welcome workflow on Android TV

As the last few versions changed VLC's look and feel a lot, we also updated the tips that are shown the first time you use the audio and video players.

It has never been that easy to start using VLC.

New in Android Auto

The Android Auto navigation has been completely reworked. It's easier and quicker to browse and play your library!

Beyond that, some other changes have been made:

Search a media
Play streams or playlists
More media info is displayed
Improved pagination
Improved cover synchronization
Performance improvements

Clearer video list

The video list design has been changed to make it more readable.

Under the hood

A lot of fixes and improvements have been made on the cover generation, the playback and the media group management.

What's new on VLC Android 3.3

Nicolas POMEPUY — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 10:20:30 +0000

This major release is the third update of VLC 3. We focused on improving the UX and UI of the app.

Global design rework

Main navigation

When VLC 3.2 came out, a lot of work has been done on the UI to fit the Material guidelines. But we thought we could go further.
The main navigation has changed, say hello to the bottom navigation!
This redesign improves drastically the space usage and reduce the number of interactions to do a task.
Having the main navigation at the bottom of the screen improves also the reachability of the screens for users with a large device.

The new browsing screen groups local and network browsing. With this new compact design, you will find your media more easily.

The dark mode now displays a completely black theme, wich is perfect for OLED screens

The app icon has also been improved!

The audio player now displays the overall progress of your play queue

Video player

Due to popular demand, the video player has been redesigned to have a more modern look

The lock player feature has been improved. You can now lock your orientation directly in the controls or lock the whole screen in the advanced options.

All the different tracks can now be changed in one place:

The subtitle downloader has been revamped too, making it easier to find what you're looking for

A brand new interface has been done to sync the audio or subtitles tracks. You can now do it in a comprehensible way by clicking when something happens and then fine tune it.

The AB repeat feature has been redone from scratch to be easier to use.

Of course, all of the player improvements are available on Android TV as well

Speaking of TV, you can now display all of the browsing screens in list instead of grid to get a more compact view.

DVD and Blu ray support have also been improved. The app now saves your current progress when playing this kind of media.

New features

Sponsorship

You can now sponsor VLC Android to help us improve the app.

Video grouping

It’s nice to have a well sorted video collection, and sometimes automatic grouping is not enough. This release lets you create custom groups and always have your videos in the right place

Media sharing

Share a media with all of your friends.

Video stats

You can now display stats in real time when playing a video.

Others

To decrease the app complexity, the settings have been cleaned up and, when applicable, some settings are now displayed in the corresponding screens. Thanks to that, some settings can now be changed by screen instead of the whole app.

For example, you can now change the layout of only one of the audio screens:

The Android 11 compatibility has been checked and there is no known issue.

Under the hood

The project is now split into gradle modules, reducing drastically the build time.
The VideoPlayerActivity has been refactored using the delegate pattern to reduce its size and complexity
Most of the icons are now vector drawables
The extensive use of coroutines and ViewModel pattern improves the responsiveness and thread safety of the app
A lot of work has been done on the CI, allowing us to build our releases on it and, in the future, automate releases and app screenshots for the stores