VLC is a favorite among fans of digital media, at least those that haven't transitioned to streaming full time. Its flexibility is unmatched, thanks in no small part to the fact that it's been under continuous open source development for over twenty years. The latest Android beta version is available now, and it shakes things up a bit.

The interface for VLC has been tweaked all over for this release, but it's most evident in the audio player portion. It's nothing drastic, just a general improvement of the looks, bringing the interface more in line with modern audio players. The video list also gets a visual refresh, and the new version allows you to add bookmarks to longer media and use the app without the storage permission (if you're only using it to access a stream, for example). Other bug fixes and performance tweaks are present throughout.

As is the way with beta software, there are new issues as well. According to a handful of users on the official VideoLAN forums, this update is having installation issues on some phones, crashing on others. Expect them to be resolved for the final release of 3.4.0, which may be weeks or months away. In the meantime, you can download the beta from the Play Store or directly on APK Mirror.