diff --git a/src/Video.web.tsx b/src/Video.web.tsx
index 1e381a95..6802b9c5 100644
--- a/src/Video.web.tsx
+++ b/src/Video.web.tsx
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ import {
   createWebPlaybackErrorReporter,
   describeHlsError,
   describeMediaError,
-  isHlsSource,
+  isAppleWebKit,
+  selectWebHlsPlaybackMode,
   type WebHlsPlaybackMode,
 } from './webHls';
 
@@ -270,6 +271,7 @@ const Video = forwardRef<VideoRef, ReactVideoProps>(
     }>();
 
     const uri = source?.uri as string | undefined;
+    const sourceType = source?.type;
 
     useEffect(() => {
       const video = nativeRef.current;
@@ -279,10 +281,11 @@ const Video = forwardRef<VideoRef, ReactVideoProps>(
 
       playbackErrorReporterRef.current?.reset();
       const nativeHlsSupport = video.canPlayType(HLS_MIME);
-      const mode: WebHlsPlaybackMode =
-        isHlsSource(uri) && !nativeHlsSupport && Hls.isSupported()
-          ? 'hls.js'
-          : 'native';
+      const mode = selectWebHlsPlaybackMode(uri, sourceType, {
+        hlsJsSupported: Hls.isSupported(),
+        nativeHlsSupport,
+        preferNativeHls: isAppleWebKit(navigator.userAgent, navigator.vendor),
+      });
       playbackDiagnosticsRef.current = {mode, nativeHlsSupport};
 
       if (mode === 'native') {
@@ -316,7 +319,7 @@ const Video = forwardRef<VideoRef, ReactVideoProps>(
         playbackErrorReporterRef.current?.reset();
         hls.destroy();
       };
-    }, [uri]);
+    }, [sourceType, uri]);
 
     useMediaSession(source?.metadata, nativeRef, showNotificationControls);
 
diff --git a/src/webHls.ts b/src/webHls.ts
index e3ac990c..fdcdde18 100644
--- a/src/webHls.ts
+++ b/src/webHls.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 export type WebHlsPlaybackMode = 'hls.js' | 'native';
 
+export interface WebHlsPlaybackCapabilities {
+  hlsJsSupported: boolean;
+  nativeHlsSupport: string;
+  preferNativeHls: boolean;
+}
+
 export interface HlsErrorDetails {
   type: string;
   details: string;
@@ -30,6 +36,12 @@ export interface WebVideoError {
 }
 
 const HLS_SOURCE_PATTERN = /\.m3u8(\?|#|$)/i;
+const HLS_SOURCE_TYPES = new Set([
+  'application/vnd.apple.mpegurl',
+  'application/x-mpegurl',
+  'hls',
+  'm3u8',
+]);
 
 const MEDIA_ERROR_NAMES: Record<number, string> = {
   1: 'MEDIA_ERR_ABORTED',
@@ -38,8 +50,36 @@ const MEDIA_ERROR_NAMES: Record<number, string> = {
   4: 'MEDIA_ERR_SRC_NOT_SUPPORTED',
 };
 
-export const isHlsSource = (uri: string): boolean =>
-  HLS_SOURCE_PATTERN.test(uri);
+export const isHlsSource = (uri: string, sourceType?: string): boolean => {
+  const normalizedType = sourceType?.split(';', 1)[0]?.trim().toLowerCase();
+  return (
+    HLS_SOURCE_PATTERN.test(uri) ||
+    (normalizedType !== undefined && HLS_SOURCE_TYPES.has(normalizedType))
+  );
+};
+
+export const isAppleWebKit = (userAgent: string, vendor: string): boolean =>
+  /AppleWebKit/i.test(userAgent) && /Apple/i.test(vendor);
+
+export const selectWebHlsPlaybackMode = (
+  uri: string,
+  sourceType: string | undefined,
+  {
+    hlsJsSupported,
+    nativeHlsSupport,
+    preferNativeHls,
+  }: WebHlsPlaybackCapabilities,
+): WebHlsPlaybackMode => {
+  if (!isHlsSource(uri, sourceType)) {
+    return 'native';
+  }
+
+  if (preferNativeHls && nativeHlsSupport) {
+    return 'native';
+  }
+
+  return hlsJsSupported ? 'hls.js' : 'native';
+};
 
 const compactText = (value: string): string =>
   value.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
diff --git a/test/web-hls.test.js b/test/web-hls.test.js
index 35f88b8b..ac240a9c 100644
--- a/test/web-hls.test.js
+++ b/test/web-hls.test.js
@@ -6,13 +6,93 @@ const {
   createWebPlaybackErrorReporter,
   describeHlsError,
   describeMediaError,
+  isAppleWebKit,
   isHlsSource,
   sanitizeDiagnosticUrl,
+  selectWebHlsPlaybackMode,
 } = require('./lib/webHls');
 
 test('recognizes HLS playlist URLs with query strings', () => {
   assert.equal(isHlsSource('https://api.example/playlist/42.m3u8?vod=1'), true);
   assert.equal(isHlsSource('https://cdn.example/video.mp4'), false);
+  assert.equal(
+    isHlsSource('https://api.example/playlist/42', 'application/x-mpegURL'),
+    true,
+  );
+});
+
+test('uses hls.js in Chromium even when native HLS support reports maybe', () => {
+  const userAgent =
+    'Mozilla/5.0 Chrome/146.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 AppleWebKit/537.36';
+  assert.equal(isAppleWebKit(userAgent, 'Google Inc.'), false);
+  assert.equal(
+    selectWebHlsPlaybackMode(
+      'https://api.example/playlist/42.m3u8',
+      undefined,
+      {
+        hlsJsSupported: true,
+        nativeHlsSupport: 'maybe',
+        preferNativeHls: isAppleWebKit(userAgent, 'Google Inc.'),
+      },
+    ),
+    'hls.js',
+  );
+});
+
+test('uses hls.js for an extensionless HLS source with an explicit type', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    selectWebHlsPlaybackMode(
+      'https://api.example/playlist/42',
+      'application/vnd.apple.mpegurl; charset=utf-8',
+      {
+        hlsJsSupported: true,
+        nativeHlsSupport: '',
+        preferNativeHls: false,
+      },
+    ),
+    'hls.js',
+  );
+});
+
+test('preserves native HLS in Apple WebKit browsers', () => {
+  const userAgent =
+    'Mozilla/5.0 Version/18.6 Safari/605.1.15 AppleWebKit/605.1.15';
+  assert.equal(isAppleWebKit(userAgent, 'Apple Computer, Inc.'), true);
+  assert.equal(
+    selectWebHlsPlaybackMode(
+      'https://api.example/playlist/42.m3u8',
+      undefined,
+      {
+        hlsJsSupported: true,
+        nativeHlsSupport: 'maybe',
+        preferNativeHls: isAppleWebKit(userAgent, 'Apple Computer, Inc.'),
+      },
+    ),
+    'native',
+  );
+});
+
+test('falls back to native playback when hls.js is unavailable', () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    selectWebHlsPlaybackMode(
+      'https://api.example/playlist/42.m3u8',
+      undefined,
+      {
+        hlsJsSupported: false,
+        nativeHlsSupport: 'probably',
+        preferNativeHls: false,
+      },
+    ),
+    'native',
+  );
+  assert.equal(
+    selectWebHlsPlaybackMode('https://cdn.example/video.mp4', undefined, {
+      hlsJsSupported: true,
+      nativeHlsSupport: '',
+      preferNativeHls: false,
+    }),
+    'native',
+  );
 });
 
 test('includes fatal HLS network and response details', () => {