Whilst there isn’t (at the time of writing) an official announcement on the front page of https://kodi.tv, Kodi 17.0 has reached final status and is no longer just available as a Release Candidate or Beta release. On compatible devices you can download it from their website or Google’s Play Store.
Two big changes found with Kodi 17 are a new default skin (Estuary) and the requirement to have Android 5.0 or later installed. For more information, please see the DroiX FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) post which can be found at https://droix.net/blogs/wordpress/the-kodi-17-faq
Kodi’s own FAQ is located at http://kodi.wiki/view/Kodi_v17_(Krypton)_FAQ
Why is this post titled “Kodi or Bust”?
17 is bigger than 16. Kodi 17 must be bigger and better than 16.
This is often the basic thinking behind some of the queries we receive. Whilst we understand eagerness to try new things and sample the changes that this Krypton (v17) build of Kodi brings, it is worth considering all angles before updating or being concerned that you need a new device.
Here is why using Kodi 16.1 is not likely to curtail your online entertainment for some time…
Even Kodi 15.2 is still often enough for most add-ons, some wizards/builds require Kodi 16 or 16.1 . If Kodi 16 is not available due to your device running Android 4.4 or earlier, there is no need to panic. You will be able to continue to use most of your video add-ons for quite some time yet.
Whilst those running Android 5 (Marshmallow) or later are now able to install and use Kodi 17, there will be some hiccups/tweaks required for a while. If your current set up works and provides what you need, and you don’t relish the idea of losing access to add-ons that are incompatible with Krypton, leave everything as it is. Some coders are specifically requesting users of their skins, add-ons and wizards do not yet update.
If you do update, the first time you open the application afterwards you may see warnings like the one shown in the screenshot above. If you do not want to lose the current appearance you have with Kodi 16.1, we definitely recommend backing up (see http://kodi.wiki/view/Backup ) your Kodi installation. If you find your Wizard, build or skin don’t yet work in Kodi 17, you can then reinstall 16.1 and restore your backed up data to have everything back as it was originally.
If you have other questions about Kodi 17, please don’t forget to visit https://droix.net/blogs/wordpress/the-kodi-17-faq.
