The latest update for the ubiquitous VLC open source media player is here and comes with native support for Apple’s silicon Mac computers – the new versions of MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac mini with Apple’s own M1 processor. VLC 3.0.12 also includes some visual tweaks to further align it with Big Sur, the latest version of macOS.
Mac applications don’t strictly require native updates to work with the M1 processor, since Apple’s silicon Macs include Rosetta 2, a translation layer that allows compiled software for x86 processors to work surprisingly well on new Arm-based hardware. But for an application like VLC, which many users rely on to play heavy 4K or 8K video files, the performance and efficiency improvements can be noticeable.
As noted by 9to5Mac, the new VLC is not a universal binary, which means that code optimized for Arm is not included by default yet. The normal VLC application must be upgraded to 3.0.12 and then back to 3.0.12.1 on an Apple silicon Mac to get the optimized version.
Version 3.0.12 also has some minor features and settings for VLC on other platforms, including better support for Blu-ray tracks and fixing some flaws when using Direct3D 11 on Windows.