Best video players for iPhone and iPad

By
On November 27, 2013

video-player-iconAccept it, the native video player on iOS sucks. Unless you’re buying all content from iTunes, you’ll face alot of limitations like lack of support of wild formats, cumbersome file transfers and plain looks. And one of the first few apps a person searches in the AppStore after getting a new iOS device is “video players”. So, here is what we think should be on top of the results.

Infuse

It is the video player which gives the most premium experience on AppStore. In terms of functionality, Infuse is similar to most other apps in this list, with support of wide range of formats, subtitles, aspect ratios and airplay, but the execution done by Firecore is out of this world. Infuse tracks down the info of even raw files and prepares a detailed IMDB portfolio of the file in your device, presents it as a ticket, provides for subtitle searches within the app, supports Trakt.tv sync and much more, which are unique to it. Personally, this is my first choice of alternate video players for my iPhone or iPad. But if you’ve alot of movies on the cloud or use NAS, you’ll be disappointed to know that Infuse doesn’t support them yet and you can scroll down for alternatives.

screen480x480Read our review and get Infuse: Play More, Convert Less ($4.99) from the AppStore.

 

AVPlayer

This is one of the most popular video players in the AppStore and had been my goto destination, before Infuse came along. All common features – check. Of course, this one is not as fancy as the latter, but surely is an over-doer for most normal users. First of all, it is 2 bucks cheaper. Also the gesture controls and touch & orientation locks are somethings I missed in Infuse (limited gestures are available in the latest update, though). If you’ve NAS files, AVPlayer is the best way to go. The only drawback is that it is not an universal app. So if you own both screen sizes, it’ll set you back 6 USD.

screen480x480 (1)Get AVPlayer ($2.99) for iPhone or AVPlayer HD ($2.99) for iPad  from the AppStore.

 

iMedia Player

Probably the first one to pop up on searching “Video Players” and one of the highest rated ones too. iMedia Player is not so polished or good looking as some others here, but surely gets the thing done. And to those looking for free video players, this one is a blessing. All the features of the premium apps from multi-format support to http streaming of videos are available here for free and the In-app store doesnot block any of these. You need to pay 2 bucks only if you think those ads are ugly.

imediaplayerGet iMedia Player (Free) from the AppStore.

 

PlayerXtreme

This is for those who are allergic to ads. Though PlayerXtreme donot have any ads, many of its core features like sound boost, folder guard and even the subtitles are locked down in the free version. The worst thing is that there is no single purchase for these features and to unlock the whole app you’ll need to shed about 7 dollars. And that is when you can get AVPlayer for both iPhone and iPad for less than that. So it is suitable only for those free app lovers who just need to play many formats without ads and nothing else.

screen568x568Get Media Player – PlayerXtreme HD – The best player of movies, videos & music (Free) from the AppStore.

 

Azul Media Player

This is one of the lesser known video players in the AppStore but personally, I like it and it seems to be just overshadowed by some better siblings. It is a really dynamic and ever evolving app with frequent updates, bug fixes and new features coming in every now and then. All common formats in upto 1080p are supported but some device users have complained of lagging and voice out-of-sync in large files. Dot pattern passcode lock, custom thumbnails, two finger swipe gestures and http streaming are some of the unique features.

AzulGet Azul Media Player for iPhone ($0.99) or iPad ($2.99) from the AppStore.

Others
OPlayer
Good Player
Buzz Player
8Player