Do your parents constantly call you asking you how to do something on their new iPhone? Or maybe you want to record a sweet Fortnite win that people just have to see? Since iOS 11, Apple introduced a native option to record the screen on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod. What once required a third-party app is now a stunningly simple process. Here’s everything you need to know in order to create a screen recording.
Setting up screen recording
Although screen recording is easy, you do need to make the setting available in your Control Center. To enable screen recording, go to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls. Select the plus icon (+) next to Screen Recording. A Screen Record icon should now appear in your Control Center, which you can access by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, or swiping down from the top right edge if you’re on an iPhone X series or iPhone 11 series.
Recording your screen
Apple has made screen recording a really simple process. Just open the Control Center and tap the Screen Record icon. It’s a white circle with a circular ring around it.
Once you tap it, you’ll have three seconds to close the Control Center before your phone will start recording. A red bar will appear at the top of your screen to let you know you’re recording.
If you want to add audio to your screen recording, things are a little different. Press the Screen Record icon with extra pressure (via 3D Touch) for more options. A pop-up menu will appear in the middle of your screen, and you can press the Microphone Audio icon, followed by the Start Recording button to get going.
When you are finished recording, the fastest way to stop recording is to tap on the red timer on the top of the screen. You’ll see the message “Screen Recording video saved to Photos” appear in your Notification Center, and you can tap on it to enter the Photos app and watch your video. You can also go to the Control Center and tap on the Screen Record icon to stop recording.
Editing a screen recording
After you end the recording of your screen, it will automatically save to your phone’s memory. You’ll see the message “Screen Recording video saved to Photos” in the notification bar. Tap on this notification to open the video. Or, you can open the recording via the Photos app to edit.
Editing a screen recording is just like editing any other video in the Photos app. Open up the video in Photos and select Edit in the upper right-hand corner. A slider bar will appear below the screen recording. At either end of the slider are toggle bars that allow you to edit frame by frame. Simply drag the toggle bars to make adjustments to the beginning or end of your screen recording. When you feel satisfied with your editing and don’t want to change anything else, simply tap Done. Don’t forget to save your work! Just tap Save as New Clip before navigating away from the editing screen.
Screen recording and compatibility with other apps
Note that some apps may adjust how screen recording functions, so in some cases, you may need to experiment a bit when using outside apps. It shouldn’t be difficult to eliminate any kinks with a little trial and error. Your results might vary depending on which app you are using and what it is capable of.
If your built-in screen recorder isn’t doing enough for you, plenty of third-party apps offer more screen recording functionality. Mirror for Samsung TVs has several features that aren’t available through Apple’s built-in screen recorder. For example, you can apply screen mirroring to your recording and cast it to a Samsung TV. Since Apple’s screen recording features are pretty basic, apps like this are a great alternative.
Many iPhone users don’t realize how easy it is to screen record. For anyone who just needs basic functionality to record their screen, Apple’s built-in feature should be sufficient. Just a few taps, and you can share any video through any of your channels.
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