VLC Media Player Gains Full Support For M1 Macs

One of the main tasks that many people perform on computers is playing various types of media. To support media playback, PCs and Mac computers need media players, and one of the most popular multi-platform media players is called VLC. The macOS version of VLC has received a significant update adding full support for the new M1 Mac computers.The update allows the software to take complete advantage of the new Apple Silicon inside the Mac computers. This allows for improved performance and better energy efficiency, which will be very welcome by MacBook users looking for the most battery life possible. The updated version of VLC is 3.0.12.

Along with full support for M1 Mac computers, the update also adds enhancements to work correctly for macOS Big Sur. Other tweaks to the latest version of the media player include a fix for audio distortions and adaptive streaming resolution, along with security improvements. There are currently two versions of VLC with versions for Mac computers running Intel chips and one for Mac computers running the latest M1 chips.

This means users will need to update VLC for Mac version 3.0.12 and then check for updates again to install version 3.0.12.1 for ARM-powered Mac computers. VLC is a free download for Mac and Windows users. It's also available for iOS devices via the App Store.

Anyone wanting to learn more about the new Apple M1 Mac computers can check out our M1 MacBook Air review from last month. More recently, an unwelcome change was made to the M1 Macs preventing users from sideloading iPhone and iPad apps onto the laptops. That wasn't such a welcome change, but a better performing version of VLC is.