A rather neat feature of iTunes is the role that music videos have. Instead of being separate entities hidden away in the video player, they’re listed with their respective audio counterparts in the music library, basically working like audio files with video album art. I’ve had people ask for an Android alternative, which I haven’t really been able to find. One app that comes close though is MX Player.
I say “comes close”, because MX Player is a video play at its core, rather than an audio player with video capability. One of the features of MX Player however is Background Play, which allows you to put a video in the background without pausing it. That means that turning off the screen or hitting the home button doesn’t pause the video like it does on most players, it simply switches it to audio only mode. That way, you can be on the train watching music videos, and just hit the screen lock button when you get off and continue listening to only the audio.
It’s hardly an ideal solution, but it’s one I’ve actually used quite a bit. There are other uses for only listening to a video file as well, like having a video lecture you only really need to listen to, or perhaps you simply want to use a movie as a kind of audio book while doing something that keeps your attention elsewhere.
If you know of any similar apps for Android, especially one that’s an audio player with a music video feature similar to iTunes, let me know.
Download: Google Play
