I still love VLC, but this lightweight video player changed the game for me

VLC Player has been my go-to video app for years, dating back to the good ol’ Windows XP days. That loyalty progressed to Android, and I still use it across desktop and mobile for my video content needs. While it remains a powerful product, VLC often feels cumbersome when I crave simplicity. Why opt for a piledriver when you need a chisel?

I searched for a secondary player for more immediate video viewing tasks a few months ago and discovered Next Player. Although it’s not as feature-rich as VLC, this is to its benefit. I believe the veteran player could learn a lot from this underdog.

What Next Player lacks in features, it makes up for in design. It’s one of the most visually appealing Android apps I’ve used in ages, fully utilizing Material You and sensible element placements. The app offers two settings menus: one for home screen organization and another for additional tweaks and toggles. I’m never more than two screens away from the home screen, and since I’ve set up the environment to my liking, I rarely have to revisit these menus.

Its clean design initially attracted me, but Next Player’s strength is its straightforward functionality. The home screen’s organizational options are somewhat customizable, but it displays only folders containing supported content by default. This makes it easy to jump into a directory and start watching content immediately.

The video player itself is a core part of the video player experience, and I find Next’s interface much easier to use. While VLC often hides important icons behind an overflow menu, Next offers immediate access to core controls on the player screen.

I have a habit of accidentally swiping or tapping on the screen or seek bar while watching content, leading me to lock content when it’s on my display. Next Player’s lock icon is conveniently located at the screen’s bottom left corner, whereas VLC’s is hidden in its overflow menu. I prefer not to tap multiple times to access this vital setting, so Next Player wins this battle.

Overall, Next Player’s controls are more relevant to my experience than those provided by VLC. I don’t always need to select a subtitle track, but I often want to pop out my video player or adjust the playback speed. Yes, VLC has more options on tap, but the controls I use most aren’t readily available. I wish both players allowed users to customize which icons are on screen, but Next Player suits my needs best for now.

It’s also worth mentioning the speed of the two players. I find Next far smoother when accessing anything on the player screen. Single-tapping to bring up or hide icons is performed with a fluid, swift animation. VLC feels decidedly lumbering in comparison. The app also has problems with cut-off icons due to their size or location on my rounded display. Next is far neater in almost every aesthetic aspect.

As much as I’ve grown to like Next Player, I still use VLC to browse my NAS’s video files directly if I don’t want to use my file manager. It excels at streaming media and casting to supported devices. VLC also lets me browse audio files, create playlists for uninterrupted viewing or listening, or switch to its Android TV app on my Chromecast. These are features that Next Player doesn’t have. These features have made VLC a brilliant app, but I’m slowly realizing I privilege usability above these options. Next Player offers just that.