Budget Android Phones To Get AV1 Boost: Smoother Streaming & Less Data Usage

Android smartphones are set to get a major boost in video playback, as Google is working on implementing a new AV1 codec. Google to add libdav1d, an open-source video codec by VideoLAN, to Android code which will enable budget devices to use AV1 Boost devices without hardware-level AV1 encoders.

AV1 codec, developed by Alliance for Open Media or AOMedia, is an open-source codec format used to compress large-size videos without compromising the video quality. The feature is enabled by a hardware accelerator embedded in the chipset of a device. This is the reason why only a handful of upper-midrange and flagship phones enjoy the full potential of the AV1 codec.

A lot of streaming platforms including YouTube, Instagram, and Netflix use AV1 encoding to compress the videos on their platform. Thus, devices lacking the hardware accelerator would have to rely on VideoLAN’s libgav1 AV1 software decoder, which delivers significantly worse performance.

Just like libgav1, libdav1d will also decode AV1-encoded videos but at a much faster rate while needing the same or even less amount of power. In Mishaal’s testing, where he played an AV1 encoded clip using both the decoders, libgav1d averaged to about 25 fps while libgav1 only averaged to about 10 fps.

As you can probably understand, libdav1d is a huge leap in performance over libgav1. So, when is Google bringing the libdav1d decoder to all Android devices? Well, Google has confirmed it will be replacing libdav1d with libgav1 in a new Google Play System update that’s coming in March 2024. This will be done similarly to how Nearby Share was replaced by Quick Share.

Although the update might have a negligible impact on devices with a dedicated AV1 decoder, it’s sure to make a huge difference for budget and mid-range devices that lack a hardware accelerator. So, if you have a budget or a mid-range Android device; buckle up, as you are going to experience the maximum potential of the AV1 codec on your device.

What is AV1 Codec? Why Does it Matter?

AV1 Codec is the successor to Google’s VP9 codec that delivers significantly better performance while also consuming lesser bandwidth. AV1 has reduced bandwidth requirements by up to 30%. One of the nice features of AV1 codec is that it can deliver great performance even at lower bitrates.

In comparison to H.264 and HEVC, AV1 has far better compression efficiency. At low bit rates, AV1 outperforms HEVC, H.264, and AV9 in terms of performance. 

As far as quality is concerned, AV1 outperforms previous codecs in several areas, including PSNR, VMAF, bit rate savings, and split encoding. The overall file size is also reduced by 20% when compared to AV9.

How does this matter to the average user? With AV1 codec, the average user can enjoy an overall better streaming experience with less data consumed. This can be a huge deal for users who rely solely on mobile data for streaming content. Do note that AV1 codec will only work if the streaming app supports it.

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