Kodi 22 “Piers” is now officially available as an Alpha 2 Pre-Release version for those who wish to download the application.

Kodi is renowned for its constant updates and development, as pre-release versions are usually in the works while the stable version continues to be improved upon.

This tradition continues for the current version, as Kodi 22 “Piers” has officially launched for download with the Alpha 2 pre-release. The development team noted the following on the official Kodi website.

“It is the season for giving, so, for those who want the latest and greatest, this is for you: hot on the heels of Kodi 22 “Piers” Alpha 1 (and Kodi 21.3 “Omega”), we present the perhaps predictably-titled Alpha 2. Usual words – the step from 21 to 22 is a major release, but it’s also an Alpha at this stage, so you’re going to get some bugs as well as funky new features.”

We have yet to test this release, but various Reddit users have noted that it functions properly with popular addons such as FEN, Umbrella, and more.

TROYPOINT Tip: We always recommend using the stable version of Kodi with various 3rd party add-ons and builds. Currently, Kodi 21.3 is the stable release and available for download.

However, those who do wish to test Kodi 22 Piers on various devices can find the installation links available on the Download Website, with Alpha 1 pre-release available for Android, PC, and more.

The official change log for Kodi 22 Piers (Alpha 2) is available below.

Kodi 22 Piers Releases

Alpha 2 Pre-Release

Video/audio

• Upgraded to FFmpeg 8
• Added HEIF/HEIC support
• Fixed playing streams with more than 256 audio+video+subtitles tracks
• Improved audio channel handling
• Improved subtitle selection for “forced_only” subtitles

Library/Sources and Management

• Added Season Plot
• Added Movie/TV Show Original Language
• Fixed bug in Alpha 1 where scanning fails if local NFO files are present
• Improved Video Version importing

PVR

• Fixed Daylight Saving Time switching issues

Weather

• New Weather Skinning API
• Various fixes and improvements for the Home widget and Weather window

Python

• Upgraded to Python 3.13.7
• Added ability to set available fanart

Platforms

• Windows
  • Multiple Kodi instances can now be run simultaneously
• Android
  • New dialog explaining microphone permission
• macOS
  • Fixed high CPU usage in the background
• LG webOS
  • Improvements for new Media Pipeline
  • Fixed very bright subtitles and GUI when playing HDR / DolbyVision content
  • Fixed subtitles sometimes not displaying

Alpha 1 Pre-Release

Video/audio

• Upgraded to FFmpeg 7
• Blu-ray menu support
• Audio book chapter support
• Movie Versions/Extras full redesign
• Better stream selection
• Automatic cleaning of cached images/artwork

PVR

• New Recently Added Channels (plus new widget)
• New Providers window (requires skin support)
• New Custom Timers
• Improved channel groups
• Improved saved searches
• Improved recording functionality
• Improved EPG search
• 1-minute EPG resolution (requires skin support)

Games

• Shader support (from Google Summer of Code 2017/2019)
• Improved mouse and keyboard support

Performance

• Reduced memory usage for single- and dual-channel textures
• Improved performance and memory usage on OpenGL and OpenGLES

Network

• Improved SMB GUI settings
• Support for SMBv2.0 devices lacking SMBv2.1 features such as “large MTU”
• Fixed connecting to Windows SMB servers with no password
• Drastically improved performance at listing large SMB directories

Platforms

• Windows/Xbox
  • Initial Windows ARM64 desktop support
  • Python 3.13 on Windows/Xbox
  • Enabled XAudio2 sink for Windows desktop (was previously only on Xbox)
  • Enhanced Video Super Resolution feature with 10-bit SDR support (Intel and Nvidia) and HDR10 (Nvidia)
• Android
  • Enabled file sharing to other apps and players
  • Improved channels on the home page
  • Upgraded to Android 15
  • Minimum Android version is now 7.0
  • Android support for 16KB page size
• LG webOS
  • New unified media pipeline
• HDR passthrough on OpenGL (was previously only on OpenGLES)

Peripherals

We want to know what you think of the latest version of Kodi 22 Piers. Do you plan on installing and testing it with addons/builds? Let us know in the comments below!

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