How Much 4K Video Can You Shoot on an iPhone 6s
Apple's iPhones 8 and iPhone X can shoot 4K video, too. Essentially 2160p, that's four times as many pixels. 1080p at 60FPS takes up...
Author:Daniel BarrettSep 04, 2022252 Shares252492 Views
Shoot 4K Video– With the new announcement that the iPhone6s will shoot 4k videos, buyers may be wondering how much space they’ll need to contain all the videos they’ll shoot.
Thanks to Marques Brownlee’s hands-on video of the device, That question has been answered. Brownlee briefly looks at the phone’s camera settings, including the space requirements for 4K video, in that video…
Continuing in a tradition, the iPhone SEand iPhone 6s line started, and Apple’s iPhone 8and iPhone Xcan shoot 4K video. Essentially 2160p, that’s four times as many pixels — twice horizontal and vertical — as 1080p.
How Much Space does 4K Take Up?
4K video requires more storage space and is significantly larger than 1080p. For example, while standard 30 frames per second on a single minute 1080p footage requires only 130 MB, a 4K video at the same framerate will require a whopping 375 MB.
If you’re considering shooting in 4K at 30FPS with your iPhone, here’s how much space it’ll take up on your device, depending on length:
- With the rate of 30FPS per 30 seconds of 4K video will take approximately 175MB (85MB using HEVC in iOS 11)
- 60 seconds takes up 350MB (170MB)
- 5 minutes takes up 1.75GB (850MB)
- 10 minutes takes up 3.5GB (1.7GB)
- 30 minutes takes up 10.5GB (5.1GB)
4K in 24FPS and 60FPS shooting is only made for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X, which offers file sizes that clock in at slightly less (i.e., 270MB for H.264, 135MB for HEVC when shooting 60 seconds of 4K at 24FPS) and close to double (400MB for 60 seconds in 4K at 60FPS), respectively. 60FPS 4K is such a space hog that Apple won’t let you shoot in it without saving your storage by turning on HEVC.
How to Enable 4K 60FPS and 1080P 240FPS on Your iPhone 8
As you can see, 4K is a bit heftier than your average video — and it’s a considerable reason why Apple’s base-model iPhone size is now 64GB, rather than the iPhone 6s’s 16GB (which could conceivably fill up an entire phone with 30 minutes of 4K and nothing else). This is also why 4K is off by default — you have to visit Settings> Camera> Record Video to change it.
In comparison, here are general storage sizes (based on 60-second shooting times) for its other video options:
- 720p at 30FPS takes up 60MB per minute (40MB using iOS 11 HEVC)
- 1080p at 30FPS takes up 130MB (60MB)
- 1080p at 60FPS takes up 175MB (90MB)
- And, for fun, here’s the space cost for one minute of slo-mo:
- Filming 720p at 240FPS takes up 300MB (not available in HEVC)
- Filming 1080p at 120FPS takes up 350MB (170MB)
- Filming 1080p at 240FPS requires HEVC and takes up 480MB of space.
How to Turn On 4K Video and Change its Shooting Format
Using the H.264 codec (~170MB with the HEVC codec) in 4K shooting can consume 300-400 MB of storage per minute of video. That works out to 1 GB every 3 minutes or so — or, in other words, a lot.
Suppose your iPhone storage is less than 256 GB, and you aren’t in the habit of pulling your video files off your device or using iCloud Photo Library’s Optimize Storage feature. You may want to leave 4K video off by default and only turn it on when you want or need it.
How to Enable 4K Video
To enable 4k video, launch Settings from the home screen – Tap on Camera – Tap Record Video – Tap 4K at 30 fps or 4K at 60 fps to enable 4K.
To turn off 4K, repeat the same steps and choose an alternate option.
How to Save Space Shooting a 4K Video Running iOS 11?
Apple iOS 11 users will have the option to shoot in the new HEVC codec, which approximately halves the storage space you’ll need for shooting in 4K. It’s a great space saver, and better yet, it’ll automatically convert back to H.264 when you’re sharing with other services.
Here’s how to turn it on or off.
Use the Launch Settings from the Home screen – Tap on Camera – Tap Formats – Tap High Efficiency to enable HEVC, or Most Compatible to switch back to H.264.
How to Trim 4K Videos
You can trim 4K videos right in the Camera or Photos app, just like the same way you trim any other video on your iPhone.
Make use of a way to get to the video you’re about to trim. Depending on how recently you shot it, you can tap the thumbnail right in Camera, get to the Photos app, browse for it, or go into the Videos album and look for it there—tap Edit at the bottom (Camera app) or top right (Photos app). Next, tap either the left or right edge of the video scrubber at the bottom to reveal the yellow edit handles on each side. You can also tap the More button (it looks like an ellipse) to use an extension like iMovie to edit the clip.
If you don’t feel like using the extension, drag the edit handles to the points where you want to start and finish the video – Tap Save as New Clip.
How to Edit 4K Videos
4K videos can also be edited the same way you edit other videos-using Apple’s iMovie app, which lets you add themes, titles, and transitions.
Whether you’re starting a new project or continuing an existing one, import your 4K video the way you would any other video and edit away. Once you’re done, it can be saved back to your Photos library or shared using any service that supports 4K video.
How to Share 4K Videos
Your 4K video can be shared from the standard iOS Share sheet. Unfortunately, not all services can accept a 4K video, so if you choose one that can’t, your iPhone 6s will downscale the video to an acceptable size. (No one wants or needs 4K in their text messages, after all.)
YouTube does accept 4K uploads, so it’s a great choice if you want to publish your project to the world.
Find the video you want to share. Then, depending on how recently you shot it, you can tap the thumbnail right in Camera, get to the Photos app, browse for it, or go into the Videos album and look for it there.
Tap the Share button – Tap the video you want to share. You’ll see a blue checkmark in the bottom corner to confirm you’ve selected it. Next, tap the icon of the service you want to share. (In this example, YouTube.)
4K and AirDrop and AirPlay
You can AirDrop 4K movies directly to your Mac or other iOS so you can view or work on them there, or they can be output over an HMDI adapter to a 4K TV or projector.
Find the video you want to share. Then, depending on how recently you shot it, you can either go to the Photos app and browse, tap the thumbnail right in Camera, or go into the Videos album and look for it there.
Tap the Share button – Tap the video you want to share. You will find a blue checkmark in the bottom corner to confirm you’ve selected it. Next, tap the AirDrop location you wish to share. (In this example, Ren’s MacBook Pro.)
Additionally, AirPlay 4K to your third – or fourth-generation Apple TV or Apple TV 4K, though older Apple TV models that don’t support 4K will be downscaled to 1080p for playback.
Even without a 4K TV or anything that supports it, 4K is the next standard—as such, shooting important moments in 4K will let you enjoy and edit them in full resolution in the future.
Also read:
Jump to
How Much Space does 4K Take Up?
How to Enable 4K 60FPS and 1080P 240FPS on Your iPhone 8
How to Turn On 4K Video and Change its Shooting Format
How to Enable 4K Video
How to Save Space Shooting a 4K Video Running iOS 11?
Here’s how to turn it on or off.
How to Trim 4K Videos
How to Edit 4K Videos
How to Share 4K Videos
4K and AirDrop and AirPlay
Daniel Barrett
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