Takem Google confirms that Android is switching to @videolan’s libdav1d decoder for AV1 video playback!

I first reported back in February that Google plans to roll out a Play System Update that enables libdav1d as Android’s default AV1 software decoder. Yesterday, Arif Dikici, Software Development Manager on the Android Video and Image Codecs team, confirmed the news.

“Android welcomes dav1d, the best AV1 software decoder. It’s official! All Android devices back to Android S received this new codec over the air. Most devices can decode 720p30 in software using dav1d. Apps need to opt into dav1d to benefit for now yet soon it will become the default av1 software decoder.”

The libdav1d codec is available on Android 12+ devices with the March 2024 Google Play System Update or newer. However, the libgav1 codec is still used by default, so apps have to manually opt in to using libdav1d instead. YouTube has already started doing so (though this has led to mixed results for some users).

Compared to libgav1, libdav1d is significantly more efficient and performant at decoding AV1 videos. Of course, a hardware accelerated decoder is still preferred, but many devices don’t have a HW AV1 decoder.

Let me know if you’ve noticed any changes in YouTube following the March 2024 GPSU!