What's the best Android app for smooth video playback on older or budget phones?

MX Player is a strong candidate for users seeking smooth video playback on older or budget Android devices. The app's primary strength lies in its robust hardware acceleration, which offloads video decoding tasks to the device's processor, reducing strain on system resources and improving battery efficiency. This is particularly beneficial for phones with modest chipsets, where software-based players can stutter or overheat. The player supports a wide array of video and audio codecs out of the box, handling formats like MKV, AVI, and MP4 without requiring additional downloads or file conversions.

Specific features that enhance the experience on slower devices include adjustable playback speed, which works reliably even on older hardware, and a streamlined library view for local files. The player's subtitle support is also comprehensive, allowing for custom fonts and synchronization, which is a common pain point in other players. However, reviews from late 2024 indicate some users have experienced bugs with the notification player's progress bar following updates, which can be a minor annoyance. While the core playback engine remains solid, this occasional interface glitch is worth noting. For a free app, MX Player's performance on constrained hardware is difficult to match, making it a default choice for many looking to play local video files smoothly.