Next Player: A GPL-3.0 Android video player that trades polish for codec breadth
An Android native video player. Next Player Next Player is an Android native video player written in Kotlin.
At a glance
- What is it?
- Next Player is a native Kotlin video player for Android and Android TV, offering software decoders, network storage, and a Material 3 interface. It is a functional, ad-free option, but the project is still in development and expects bugs.
- Who is it for?
- Adopt Next Player if you need a free, ad-free Android video player that handles uncommon codecs like AV1 or TrueHD via software decoding, or if you want network storage access without a proprietary app. Do not use it if you require stable production software, because the README explicitly warns it is in development and expected to have bugs.
- Can I use it commercially?
- Yes, with conditions. GPL-3.0 is a copyleft licence: if you distribute software that includes it, you must release that software's source code under the same licence. Running it internally without distributing it does not trigger that obligation.
- Is it still maintained?
- Yes. The repository last received commits 1 day ago.
- What is it written in?
- Mainly Kotlin, according to GitHub's language statistics.
Answers come from the project's GitHub data, last synced on September 14, 2026, and from our analysis. They are not legal advice.
DEEP OPEN-SOURCE ANALYSIS
What Next Player actually solves
Next Player addresses a narrow but real gap: playing video files on Android when the stock player or a mainstream app like VLC fails to decode certain formats. The README lists support for H.263, H.264, H.265, MPEG-4, VP8, VP9, and AV1 video, plus a long audio list that includes DTS, DTS-HD, TrueHD, and AC-3. That audio support comes from the ExoPlayer FFmpeg extension, which is not built into Android itself. For users who collect high-bitrate or less common files, this is the difference between a black screen and a working movie. The target audience is not the average user who watches YouTube. It is the person who has local files, maybe on a network drive, and wants a player that does not nag them with ads or demand unnecessary permissions. The project is written in Kotlin, which means it is a native Android app rather than a web wrapper, so it can integrate with system features like picture-in-picture and background playback directly.
The mechanism: software decoders and ExoPlayer extensions
The core mechanism is a mix of platform decoders and software fallbacks. The README states that video support depends on the Android device, which means hardware acceleration is used when available. For H.264 and H.265, Next Player includes software decoders, so files that the hardware cannot handle still have a chance to play, at the cost of battery and CPU usage. Audio support is explicitly provided by the ExoPlayer FFmpeg extension, which brings in formats like DTS-HD and TrueHD that Android normally ignores. Subtitles are handled through ExoPlayer's text track system, supporting SRT, SSA, ASS, TTML, VTT, and DVB. The README notes that SSA/ASS has limited styling support, citing an ExoPlayer issue. That limitation is inherited from the underlying library, so it is not something the Next Player developers can easily fix. The player also supports network storage via SMB, FTP, SFTP, and WebDAV, which suggests it uses a file access layer that abstracts remote protocols, but the README does not specify which library or how authentication is handled.
Getting it running: install paths and fingerprint verification
You can get Next Player from several sources. The README links to the Google Play Store, F-Droid, and IzzyOnDroid, plus GitHub releases. For GitHub releases, the README provides a SHA-256 fingerprint certificate: `D3:7C:AB:F3:67:6C:F5:82:24:FB:24:2C:8D:D2:09:12:9D:05:88:03:79:29:5F:AA:A6:D0:FB:60:7B:EC:13:1B`. That is a concrete verification step you can take before installing an APK. If you build from source, the repository is a standard Android project with Kotlin, so you would clone it and use Gradle, but the README does not include build instructions. That is a gap. The app is available on Android TV, so the install process for TV would be the same APK, likely sideloaded or via a TV-friendly store. The Play Store listing suggests the package name is `dev.anilbeesetti.nextplayer`, which you can search for directly.
Features that matter: gestures, network, and TV support
The feature list includes vertical swipe to change brightness on the left and volume on the right, horizontal swipe to seek. Those gestures are common in mobile players, but they are not universal, so they matter for daily use. The media picker has tree, folder, and file views, which is useful for navigating large libraries. Network storage support is a standout: SMB, FTP, SFTP, and WebDAV. That covers most home NAS setups and remote servers. The Android TV version is another important feature, because many open-source players are phone-only. The README also mentions picture-in-picture mode, background playback, playback speed control, zoom gesture, subtitle delay, and search functionality. These are not unique, but they are expected. The combination of network protocols and TV support makes it a viable option for a home theater setup, if the bugs are tolerable.
Known limitations and failure modes
The most obvious limitation is stated directly in the README: the project is still in development and expected to have bugs. That is not a marketing disclaimer; it is a warning. You cannot expect the stability of a mature app like VLC. The SSA/ASS subtitle styling limitation is a concrete failure mode: if you watch anime or fan-subbed content with complex styling, the subtitles will not render correctly. The README points to an ExoPlayer issue, so the problem is upstream. Another limitation is that video format support depends on the device. On older hardware, H.265 or AV1 may not play smoothly even with software decoders, because software decoding is CPU-intensive. The README does not state any minimum hardware requirements. Also, the feature list is missing external audio support and online subtitle download; those are listed as planned, not implemented. So if you need external audio tracks or automatic subtitle fetching, this is the wrong tool today.
Alternatives and how they differ
The obvious alternative is VLC for Android, which is also open source and supports a vast array of formats. VLC uses its own decoding stack, including FFmpeg, and it has a mature codebase with years of bug fixes. The difference is that VLC is a general-purpose player with a long history, while Next Player is a smaller project with a modern Material 3 interface and a focus on Android TV. Another alternative is Just (Video) Player, which the README credits as an inspiration. Just Player is a lightweight player that uses Media3 (ExoPlayer) but does not include the same network storage breadth. The key difference is that Next Player bundles software decoders for H.264 and H.265, which Just Player may not, and it supports SMB/FTP/SFTP/WebDAV natively. VLC also supports network streams, but its UI is more cluttered. If you prefer a minimalist interface and do not need the most obscure codecs, Just Player might be simpler. If you need maximum stability, VLC is the safer bet.
Maintenance, license, and upgrade cost
The project is under active development, with recent releases in 2026: v0.17.5 in August, v0.17.4 in July, and v0.17.3 in July. That cadence suggests regular updates, but it also means you will need to update frequently to get bug fixes. The license is GPL-3.0, which has implications if you modify the app or use its code in your own project. GPL-3.0 requires that derivative works also be licensed under GPL-3.0, and that source code be made available. That is fine for personal use, but if you are a developer integrating this into a proprietary product, it is a non-starter. The README credits several open-source projects, indicating a dependency chain that could change. The upgrade cost is low for end users: you just install a new APK. For developers, the cost is keeping up with API changes in ExoPlayer and the Android platform, but the README does not provide a changelog or migration guide, so you would have to read the release notes on GitHub.
Editorial conclusion
Adopt Next Player if you need a free, ad-free Android video player that handles uncommon codecs like AV1 or TrueHD via software decoding, or if you want network storage access without a proprietary app. Do not use it if you require stable production software, because the README explicitly warns it is in development and expected to have bugs. Before adopting, verify that your specific video files and network protocols work on your device, check the GitHub Issues for known problems, and review the GPL-3.0 license to understand your obligations if you modify or redistribute the app.
Community notes