The next big version of Kodi, code-named Leia, is expected to arrive before the end of this year. Those who don’t want to wait until then can install the latest beta to learn about the new features the next version of this popular media center app will have. If you have been following the beta versions, you will be happy to know that the developer just released Kodi 18 Beta 3.
Bad news and good news
Kodi 18 Beta 3 brings both good and bad news for fans. The good news is that the new beta suggests the development process is running smoothly. Kodi developers also say it has become almost “impossible to create” to create a full change-log for Kodi 18 Beta 3, suggesting there were plenty of things the developers were working on.
“A full change-log is nearly impossible to create and in this release article we will only cover the basics,” Kodi team said in a blog post.
The bad news is the developers say Kodi v18 won’t get any additional features now. This means they have added all the features they plan to add to Kodi Leia, so the focus now will be to get it ready for the final release.
“From now on all v18 releases will not contain any big new features as we are focussed [sic] on bug fixing only,” the team said.
The development team will now work on improving stability and performance. Those who have been running the earlier Kodi 18 betas say the software has been quite stable and is running without any major issues.
What’s been fixed in Kodi 18 Beta 3?
Notable fixes in Kodi 18 Beta 3 include a fix for the slow browsing in the library. Further, the button maps, which changed in beta 2, have now been updated. Video and DTS-HD audio playback for Android has also been improved. Earlier video issues on Windows are fixed as well. To learn more about the Kodi 18 Beta 3 changes, you can visit this github repository. You can also view the detailed change-log for Kodi 18 here.
Those who wish to download Kodi 18 Beta 3 can visit the official download page. You will have to select the platform of your choice. The platform choices are under the pre-release tab. Android and Windows users can select the easy-to-use download add-on, which is available in Kodi’s repository.
Kodi 18 Beta 4 is expected by Oct. 14. If everything goes according to plan, Release Candidate 1 will come by Oct. 28, while Release Candidate 2 will be out by Nov. 11, according to BetaNews. There is no official release date yet.
“Since we now started the Beta cycle a final release will be on the near horizon. When the final release will actually be is yet unknown as it all depends on the stability now more people will start using the v18 builds,” the Kodi team said.
What’s after Kodi 18?
Kodi developers eventually plan to integrate Python 3 with Kodi. However, support for Python 3 won’t come until Kodi 19. Kodi is currently using Python 2.7 to run add-ons written in that programming language. Python 3 is not backward-compatible, means it does not support the previous version. Thus, it will take some time to add Python 3 support. Once Kodi 18 Leia is released, developers will have ample time to develop Python v2 and v3 add-ons.
One popular Kodi add-on site, Team Illuminati, recently closed after receiving a warning from copyright holders. It must be noted that the Kodi software is not illegal. Rather, the problem is with unaffiliated developers who create third-party add-ons, which help users access even pirated and illegal content.
Since Kodi offers access to thousands of channels and is used by millions by users, this becomes a problem for rights holders. Thus, internet service providers, government agencies, broadcasters and rights holders have been targeting the illegal add-ons.
Team Illuminati recently announced that it is shutting down following warning letters from the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment. ACE, which is an anti-piracy alliance, is made up of some of the biggest names in the entertainment world, including Netflix, BBC Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox, Amazon, Sky and HBO.
