Playing MP3s using Groove Music VLC and Music X Lite 2 x for Windows 10 Mobile Part 2

Continued from Playing MP3s using Groove Music, VLC, and Music X Lite 2.x for Windows 10 Mobile Part 1

Although VLC for Windows 10 Mobile is a good multimedia player, its not a dedicated MP3 player, and users have compared it unfavorably (and unfairly) with the more familiar Android, iOS, Linux, and Windows version. VLC for Windows 10 Mobile actually very, very well-written, but unfortunately requires processing and RAM that most Windows 10 Mobile devices dont have.

For the Lumia 650, VLC also has to comb through the external micro SD card every time when launching the app and regularly crashes when attempting to index media from a 64 GB high-speed Samsung micro SD card.

Note: Android apps, in contrast, dont suffer from external micro SD card issues. VLC for Android quickly detects changes in content in local or external storage without any performance issues. The preinstalled Sony Music app on Sony Xperia devices can even handle extremely large micro SD cards now available from Sandisk and Samsung. 

Unfortunately, as is often the case with Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile, there are very few options for good, dedicated MP3 apps on the Microsoft Store. Currently, I have Music X Lite 2.x for Windows 10 Mobile on my Lumia 650. Its a free and barebones MP3 player app. It doesnt have a search function, nor does it currently support playlists. Instead, tracks are sorted based on album, genre, and artist. The app allows users to quickly navigate using the first letter of the album, artist, or track.

The developers designed Music X Lite to quickly provides access to MP3s (though the app has to check its database on load). The app recovers from a lock screen faster than Groove Music, which always takes a few seconds to get going. Music X Lite certainly feels faster, particularly when you are switching between other Windows 10 Mobile app screens, even on the low-end Lumia 650. Thankfully, music player controls for Music X Lite are still available even when the Windows Phone is locked. Note, however, that the app is unusable the first time you launch it and starts indexing all your music files.

If you play whole albums at one go, or prefer an MP3 player that randomly selects MP3s, then Music X Lite is an adequate alternative to Groove Music. However, if you prefer creating playlists, then Music X Lite isnt the best option for Windows 10 Mobile.