VLC Media Player returns to iOS App Store

The VLC Media Player app for iOS devices has returned to the Apple App Store after a break of two-and-a-half years. The new version, named as 2.0, is fully open source and as always totally free. The latest version of the app includes features like Wi-Fi and Dropbox syncing as well as the ability to download files from the Web.

VLC is considered as one of the most popular media players in the world, because it is compatible with almost all types of audio file formats.  It plays basically any media file in any container with almost any file extension including FLVs directly ripped from YouTube, or now-antiquated WMVs, MKVs and AVI.

VLC for iOS 2.0 includes new features such as password-protecting the media library, uploading media files without using iTunes, Dropbox sync and faster media decoding. It runs on any iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Back in November 2010 a version of VLC, created by the company Applidium, was introduced on the App Store, but it was pulled in January 2011 due to a licensing dispute. In 2012 VLC was re-released under a more permissive license (LGPL v2.1) and this opened the doors for the VLC app’s resubmission to Apple’s App Store.

The latest version of VLC for iOS is bi-licensed under the Mozilla Public License Version 2 as well as the GNU General Public License Version 2.