SmartTube beta vs stable at a glance
Stable ships less often and is the safer daily driver. Beta (STN) ships first when YouTube breaks playback or adds new player fixes. Pick stable unless you are actively testing.
Stable 31.94
Best for living-room Android TV, Firestick, and Fire TV daily use. Fewer surprises, smoother long sessions.
STN beta 32.10
Best when you need early patches. Current beta includes playback-error fixes and small UI improvements before the next stable release.
Same package
Both installs use com.liskovsoft.smartyoutubetv2. You cannot keep stable and beta side by side without a second device.
Stable channel
Stable 31.94 is the build most living room setups should run. It balances YouTube API compatibility with smooth playback on Nvidia Shield, Fire TV Stick 4K, and Chromecast with Google TV.
Download stable from the main APK page when you want the safest daily driver.
Beta channel (STN beta)
STN beta tags arrive first when YouTube changes break playback. Testers install beta on a spare stick or box, confirm the fix, and switch back to stable once a new stable release ships.
Beta 32.10 highlights: playback-error fixes and small UI improvements. Grab it from the beta download page.
SmartTubeNext / STN naming
SmartTubeNext (STN) is a widely used alternate name for SmartTube. Searches for stn beta, smart tube next apk, and smarttube beta usually refer to the same beta channel. Current GitHub releases label the builds SmartTube Beta and SmartTube Stable, while the installed app remains SmartTube on your launcher.
When to install beta vs stable
Install STN beta
Stable playback fails after a YouTube outage, or you want to try early fixes in 32.10 before the next stable release.
Stay on stable
Your Firestick or Fire TV is the only TV in the house and you need reliable nightly viewing with 31.94.