For years, Apple has relied on the likes of QuickTime for handling video playback on the Mac. However, this has opened the door for third-party options to fill the void as QuickTime is not exactly the most fully-featured media player app available. It can’t handle all of the different file formats, and has a pretty basic interface that doesn’t even appear when you “open” the app. Today, we’re looking at the best media player apps for Mac.
IINA is arguably the most beautiful media player app for Mac that is featured on this list. The app is built natively to look and feel just like if it were an app that Apple developed and released on macOS. IINA includes features such as automatic dark mode, native picture-in-picture, and can even be used to watch a YouTube playlist that you created.
For many years, VLC Media Player has been the default third-party solution when looking for the best media player apps for Mac. VLC is still an incredible app, and has been updated with support for Apple Silicon, so it will run natively. VLC is actively developed with new features arriving on a regular basis, plus it’s free to download, or you can donate a few bucks to the developers.
Pivoting away from video consumption, VOX is a unique app designed for the audiophiles out there. The app’s catchline is “It’s All About Hi-Res Sound”, meaning that the app is designed to preserve the quality of your music without compressing anything. There’s also an accompanying app for iPhone, and with VOX Music Cloud, you’ll be able to keep all of your hi-res music backed up on the cloud to save some space on your devices.
Another Media Player that has been available on the Mac for years is DivX. The app originally launched all the way back in 2003, and makes it easy to play AVI, MKV, and even HEVC files in up to 4K quality on your Mac.
If you have a vast library of movies and TV shows that you’ve downloaded or ripped from DVDs over the years, then you might want to check out Plex. The app serves as a front-facing interface for those who want to set up a cloud streaming service for their home movie collections. It’s completely free to use, and the company even includes a few streaming services that you can link if you want to watch something different.
Andrew Myrick is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US. He enjoys everything to do with technology, including tablets, smartphones, and everything in between. Perhaps his favorite past-time is having a never-ending supply of different keyboards and gaming handhelds that end up collecting more dust than the consoles that are being emulated.
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