Learn how to shoot ultra slow-motion 240 frames per second full-HD 1080p or crisp 4K 120 fps videos on your iPhone to get slo-mo clips with excellent details.
Supported slo-mo shooting modes
The following slo-mo filming modes are supported on iPhones:
- 720p at 120 fps (slow motion): iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X
- 720p at 240 fps (ultra slow motion): iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. You will see 720p HD at 240 fps if you change the format to Most Compatible in camera settings.
- 1080p HD at 120 fps (slow motion): iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, and all later models.
- 1080p HD at 240 fps (ultra slow motion): iPhone 8, iPhone X, and all later models.
- 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps (slow motion): iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max
File size comparison
Thanks to the efficiency of the H.265 codec, a one-minute 1080p/120 fps slo-mo capture session takes up about 170 megabytes of storage space on the device. Double the frame rate to 240 fps, and you’re looking at 480 megabytes per minute. If you opt for 4K 120 fps slo-mo recording, it will eat up to 800 MB for every minute you record.
The older H.264 codec is more widely used than its contemporary H.265 counterpart but doubles the file size and limits 1080p slo-mo recording to 120 fps.
Record 1080p/240 fps or 4K/120 fps slo-mo video on iPhone
1) Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap the Camera option.
2) Tap Record Slo-mo and select the option labeled 1080p HD at 240 fps or 4K at 120 fps.
Tips:
- To reveal the hidden option for capturing 720p/240 fps slo-mo video on newer devices, change your media format from “High Efficiency” to “Most Compatible” in Settings > Camera > Formats before revisiting this section.
- And to reveal the 4K at 100 fps (PAL) option, head to Settings > Camera > Record Video and turn on Show PAL Formats.
3) Close out the Settings app and launch the stock Camera app.
4) Swipe to the SLO-MO tab.
5) Tap the Record button, press either Volume buttons, or click iPhone 16’s Camera Control to start and stop the slow motion recording.
The video will be saved as an H.265-encoded .MOV file inside the Photos app.
Watching slo-mo videos
You can watch 1080/240 fps or 4K/120 fps slo-mo video on your iPhone like you would any other video.
All iPhones, since the iPhone 4s have a 60Hz display, so high frame rate video looks pretty good on them.
For best results, watch your 4K or 1080p 120 fps or 240 fps footage on an iPad Pro or an iPhone 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max, and later Pro or Pro Max models. These models feature Apple’s ProMotion display technology, which dynamically alternates the panel’s refresh rate between 24Hz, 48Hz, 60Hz, and 120Hz to match the content movement.
Opening a 12o or 240 fps video on a ProMotion-enabled screen automatically boosts the screen refresh rate to 120Hz for smooth, crisp playback.
Transferring slo-mo video to a Mac or PC
To choose the format in which your media in the Photos app is transferred to a computer when using the USB transfer method, select either the “Automatic“ or “Keep Originals” option in Settings > Apps > Photos below the Transfer to Mac or PC heading.
- Selecting “Keep Originals” ensures your movie files get transferred to the computer as-is.
- Changing this to “Automatic” will transcode videos during iOS > Mac/PC transfer using the H.264 codec, which increases compatibility at the expense of file size. Use this setting if your computer doesn’t support H.265 hardware acceleration.
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