Jellyfin app for iPhone and iPad: the free way to watch your library
How to watch Jellyfin on iPhone and iPad — install Swiftly Player free, sign in with Quick Connect, and three other good clients to know about.
By Swiftly Player2 min read
Disclosure: we build Swiftly Player, one of the clients in this article. We point out where other apps do better.
Jellyfin has several third-party apps for iPhone and iPad, and no official one of its own. Swiftly Player is a free client: VLC for Direct Play without server transcoding, downloads for offline viewing, and Picture in Picture, which also works with MKV files. The same app runs on Mac, Apple TV, Windows and Linux, and on Android in a closed test.
Set it up in 3 steps
- Install. Get Swiftly Player free from the App Store.
- Connect. Enter your server address, or choose Quick Connect and approve the code from another signed-in device.
- Watch. Pick a title from your library and press play.
What you get
- Direct Play through VLC, so the server does not transcode
- Skip Intro, Skip Recap and Skip Credits, plus automatic next episode, from Intro Skipper data
- Audio and subtitle choice remembered per series
- External subtitle files
- Multiple servers and accounts at once
- Quick Connect sign-in
- Requests through Seerr without leaving the app
- Resume on this device: pick up a film paused on your Mac or Apple TV with one tap
- Downloads for offline playback, and Picture in Picture
- Free, no account with us, no tracking
- Open source under the MPL-2.0 license, source on GitHub
Other good options
- Swiftfin — open source, built by the Jellyfin project itself, free with no in-app purchases. App Store · source
- Infuse — free to install, with an optional Infuse Pro subscription for extra features. App Store
- Streamyfin — a community client built on MPV, free, with Skip Intro and downloads. App Store · source
All iPhone clients side by side: Best Jellyfin app for iPhone, and for the tablet: Best Jellyfin app for iPad.
FAQ
Does Direct Play work in 4K and HDR on iPhone or iPad?
In most cases, yes. Swiftly asks the server for Direct Play first and plays through VLC, which handles MKV, HEVC, AV1, VP9, DTS, TrueHD and PGS subtitles on the device itself, so the server does not have to convert the file. The limit is the hardware: a very heavy 4K file can be more than an older device decodes smoothly, and whether HDR shows as HDR also depends on the screen.
Does Swiftly Player cost anything?
No. It is free, with no subscription, and no account with Swiftly itself.
Do I still need a Jellyfin account?
Yes — the same account you already use in a browser, on your own server. Swiftly does not add an account of its own. Quick Connect signs you in with a code, and Jellyfin keeps your playback position on the server, so Resume on this device works no matter where you paused.
