Before the release of iOS 8, I used It’s Playing Pro for anything video on iOS. The app played almost everything I threw at it and basically worked well. Back then, Firecore, the team behind the Apple TV jailbreaks, had a video player for iOS called Infuse. I’ve had my eye on this for a long time but only bothered with it when the major iOS 8 and iPhone 6 app update hit a few months ago. Infuse 3 brings support for more video formats, DTS HD audio, and more streaming options.
Infuse 3 impressed me from the start. Everything about the app from transferring media through to actual playback and navigation is done well. The app has an orange highlight throughout and a light and dark theme. Infuse’s media transferring interface is pretty damn great as well. It looks a lot like the actual app in a browser and lets you quickly add media. The main app screen has thumbnails for your videos and in most cases, Infuse fetches metadata from the internet so your library looks great. It also lets you manually search through its database for information if the automatic sync fails. Tapping a video will bring up this lovely movie ticket esque view with a blurred background. All pertinent information about the file is displayed here and you can even share the video through the native iOS share sheet. The playback interface is minimal and there’s a settings gear on the top right that lets you adjust the audio, subtitles, or video settings. Infuse supports downloading subtitles from OpenSubtitles as well. Infuse also boasts support for all the wireless drives like Mophie Space Pack and Seagate Wireless Plus.
Infuse is the best video player on iOS right now with amazing functionality and a gorgeous interface. Some features I hope they add in the future are support for styled subtitles and proper playback of advertised formats like Hi10P video. The only app on iOS that has managed to get styled subtitles right so far is VLC and that gets pulled more often than weather apps release on the App Store. Infuse 3 is available for free on the App Store with a $9.99 in app purchase that unlocks AirPlay video streaming, Dolby® Digital Plus, DTS® and DTS-HD® audio, a few more video formats. Infuse Pro is also available on the App Store with everything unlocked from the start for $9.99. Upgrade pricing for previous owners is available as well.