How To Shoot 4K Videos On The iPhone

While a lot of emphasis has been placed on the ability of our smartphone cameras to take amazing photos, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that a lot of our smartphones can also take pretty amazing videos as well, where a good majority of our smartphones are now capable of shooting videos in 4K resolution.

If you own an iPhone 6 or newer, then yes, you are definitely part of the crowd whose device can record videos in 4K, but unfortunately, Apple has not made it so obvious.

In fact, by default, the company has set it so that all your videos are recorded at 1080p HD at 30fps. So how do you go about increasing its resolution and framerate? Check out the steps below.

How To Record 4K Videos On Your iPhone

1. Launch the Settings app and scroll down until you can see Camera
2. Tap on it and then select Record Video
3. You will then be presented with various resolutions and framerates to choose from. According to Apple:
   • 720p HD at 30fps: 40MB per minute
   • 1080p HD at 30fps (default resolution): 60MB per minute
   • 1080p HD at 60fps (smoother video): 90MB per minute
   • 4K at 24fps: 135MB per minute
   • 4K at 30fps: 170MB per minute
   • 4K at 60fps: 400MB per minute
4. Select 4K and choose which framerate you want, where the higher the framerate, the smoother your video will be.
5. Repeat these steps if you’d like to change the resolution again.
6. To confirm that your videos are now recorded in 4K, launch the Camera app and at the top right corner, you should see “4K” followed by the framerate you have chosen.

As Apple has noted in the Settings page, the higher the resolution and the framerate that you choose, the more memory it will take up on your phone, and subsequently your iCloud storage if you have that enabled (check out our guide on how to manage your iCloud storage).

However, this also works in reverse where if you find yourself running out of storage space too quickly, you can opt to record your videos at a lower 720p resolution. Based on Apple’s calculations, it will take up 1/10th of storage compared to a 4K video shot at 60fps.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones, Photo-Video
Tags: iOS, iPhone