Copyright XDA Developers
For many of us, a video player is just a video player, and we settle for whatever works — usually the faithful but often clunky VLC media player or the bare-bones native option. I was firmly in that camp for years, dissatisfied but too lazy to look for an alternative that truly fit the modern macOS environment. That all changed the moment I finally hit download on IINA. My immediate reaction was one of regret; I should have made this switch much sooner. After just one evening using it, I realized I hadn’t just upgraded my software; I had upgraded my entire viewing experience. Native macOS experience Built for Mac only For so long, my philosophy on Mac media players was simple: If it plays the file, it’s good enough. I preferred VLC because it was cross-platform and never fails to open a file. But ‘never failing’ isn’t the same as excelling. I lived with several annoyances: a player that looked slightly out of place, had a menu system from a different operating system, and generally felt heavy. I knew there had to be a better way — a player designed specifically for my machine — but I kept postponing the switch. That hesitation is what I regret the most now. The single biggest revelation with IINA is how it feels like it was designed by Apple, for Apple. My old player always felt like an imported application, whereas IINA feels completely integrated. It supports the Touch Bar and even essentials like Picture-in-Picture (PiP) seamlessly, so I can tuck a video away while I work. Even simple tasks, such as adjusting the playback speed or switching audio tracks, flow naturally because they utilize the expected macOS conventions. Excellent performance and efficiency Feels lighter and snappier When I was using my old player, especially with high-resolution content, I often felt like my Mac was struggling. Since switching to IINA, that feeling has vanished. I suspect this is because, as a Mac-exclusive application, it leverages Apple’s native hardware acceleration more effectively than a rival. Whether I’m playing a high-bitrate 4K file or just watching a standard stream, the playback is consistently smooth, and my system just feels cooler. For the first time, I feel like my video player is working with my hardware, not against it. In terms of features, IINA covers all the basics, including subtitles, chapters, playlists, and more. It also offers a fully customizable keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and gesture controls. I love that it remembers where I left off in a file, but it goes further — it remembers my specific subtitle or filter settings for the exact file, so I don’t have to reset my brightness or audio track preferences every time I pick up where I left off. And thanks to online streaming integration, I no longer need to keep a browser window open just to stream something. With their Chrome extension, I can click a link, and the video immediately opens up in IINA, ready to play. Superior user interface An intuitive UI The most immediate and compelling reason I wish I had started using IINA sooner is its superior user interface. The difference starts with the design language. Everything is clean. It embraces the modern macOS aesthetic with its translucent sidebars and minimal controls. I can’t wait to see what developers come up with the latest Liquid Design language. When I enter full-screen mode, the entire On-Screen Controller fades away until I move my mouse. With a sleek timeline, organized settings, and the sidebar, there are thoughtful touches throughout the UI. In short, IINA’s interface doesn’t just look; it actively enhances my experience by getting out of the way when I’m watching and making control effortless when I need it. Open-source nature Gives me peace of mind IINA offers transparency. Knowing that the code is free and open-source, I don’t have to worry about what it’s doing behind the scenes. Community developers can inspect the code to ensure there are no backdoors or data collection methods. I feel like I finally have a player that is both technically robust and ethically sound. My only disappointment is the lack of continuity when I step away from my Mac. Since it’s built using native macOS frameworks, the developers have no plans for official Windows and Linux versions. It would essentially require building a brand-new app from scratch. I would love to see a community effort or a dedicated team manage to build a wrapper for IINA on Windows and Linux. Finally ditched VLC My experience suggests that while VLC might be the default answer, IINA is the superior one for modern Mac users. It’s fast, it looks gorgeous, and the feature set addresses every minor annoyance I didn’t even realize I had.
