Video filming in 4K on the iPhone: how does it work?

Film 4K videos with your iPhone

With the latest iPhones you can film 4K video. In this guide we explain how filming in 4K resolution on the iPhone works and on which devices it is possible. Videos recorded in 4K Ultra HD resolution contain four times as many pixels as Full HD. The advantage is that your videos are much more detailed. This also gives you more options in post-processing: for example, you can crop the video more easily, zoom in on a subject or make a panning shot, without visibly deteriorating image quality. For people who like to shoot video or vlog, 4K has become the standard – and you can do it right from your iPhone, without needing a dedicated video camera.

• Suitable devices
• What is 4K?
• 4K video recording on iPhone
• Play 4K video on iPhone and iPad
• Edit 4K video on iPhone and iPad
• Why film 4K video on iPhone?
• 4K requires more storage

4K video filming: suitable devices

These are the devices with which you can film in 4K:

• 4K at 30 fps (default): iPhone 6s and later
• 4K at 24 fps (film style): iPhone 8 and later
• 4K at 60 fps (smoother): iPhone 8 and later

Filming in 4K is also possible on the iPhone SE (all models) and on some recent iPads, such as the iPad Pro. In addition, you can film in 720p and 1080p with all recent iPhones.

A switch for PAL is available on some iPhones from iOS 14.2. PAL is a TV video format used in many countries and regions in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.

What is 4K?

When filming in 4K quality, you have to deal with a resolution of 4096 x 2160 pixels. This means four times as many pixels as the common resolution of 1080p. The image contains more detail and looks nicer, especially if you plan to play the video on a big screen later. Of course, the effect can only be seen on a 4K screen (or better).

Enable 4K video on iPhone

To be able to film in 4K, you will have to enable this manually, because it is disabled by default. This was done because 4K footage takes up quite a lot of storage.

This is how you can film in 4K:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Camera > Record Video.
3. Choose the 4K at 30 fps option or one of the other options.

Depending on your device, you will see several options. For example, some devices can film 4K video with a frame rate of 24 or 60. We recommend opting for 30 fps, unless you deliberately want to deviate from it. If you no longer want to film in 4K quality, choose the default setting of 1080p at 30 fps.

You can also enable 4K from the Camera app: tap the top right on the view to switch between 4K and HD. After making the video, you can share it in the usual ways, such as putting it on YouTube or sending it to someone else via AirDrop.

Play 4K video

To play 4K videos, you need a 4K screen, for example a 4K television or an iMac with a 5K screen. A 4K screen generally has a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, regardless of the screen size.

If you want to watch your 4K video in the best possible quality and you don’t have a 4K television, you can use the second generation iPad Pro or later. Although these do not have a 4K screen, they do have a resolution higher than 1080p.

With the iPhones you already have a 2.5K resolution from the iPhone X, so if you have a Pro Max model, the display will be fine (but still not 4K).

All devices since the iPhone 4s have a refresh rate of 60 Hz, so they can handle the smooth images of a 60 fps video, even if you see the video at a slightly lower resolution.

Edit 4K video on iPhone and iPad

You can use Apple’s own iMovie app or third-party apps to edit 4K video. iMovie can edit videos in 4K resolution from iPhone 6s, iPad Air 2 and later. Older models are graphically not powerful enough. The display of these devices does not have a 4K resolution, so you can only properly assess the end result if you view it later on a 4K screen.

If it’s a small edit, you don’t need any special software for it and you can also do it in the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad. If the 4K video is too large to send or share with others, you can easily shorten it:

This works as follows:

1. Open the Photos app and go to the video you want to edit.
2. Tap the Edit button in the top right.
3. Pull the bars on the timeline to create a yellow cutout.
4. Tap Done and then choose whether you want to save it as a new clip or overwrite the existing video.

You can also crop, rotate and straighten the video.

Why film 4K video on iPhone?

For everyday use, 4K is usually not necessary. It is also unwise to do, because the video images take up much more storage space. If you want to make a beautiful documentary or a professional-looking music clip, it obviously makes sense to do so in 4K resolution. Even if not everyone has a 4K screen yet, you can be sure that your video will look its best in the future.

It can therefore make sense to film 4K video at special moments, such as weddings and your children’s first birthday. The more detail captured, the better it will look on future screens. Moreover, you can crop, zoom and do other edits afterwards. You could then shoot and edit in 4K and then export to a lower resolution like 1080p.

4K requires more storage

4K (also called UltraHD or UHD) is the successor to 1080p Full HD, which is usually shot with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. 4K has double the number of pixels horizontally and vertically. Instead of more than 2 million pixels, you capture more than 8 million pixels. Films shot in 4K therefore take up much more storage space. You should take this into account if you only have limited storage space on your device.

Below you can see how much space filming in Tap High Efficiency (HEVC) or in the most compatible format (H.264) takes up:

Would you rather have a professional camera with which you can shoot 4K video? You can find them at brands such as Sony, Canon and Nikon for prices from around 400 euros.