iPhone Video Screen: Guide to making screen videos of Android and iPhone smartphones: how to film the display directly from the device or with PC and Mac.
In daily use of our smartphone,AndroidoriOS, you may need torecord what is happening on the screen. Sometimes we just need a simple screenshot, other times we need to make a real video. For example: if you have decided to start a contest or a giveaway on your Instagram, Facebook or YouTube profile and then you need to resume live.
In any case to make a video recording, of the random extraction made using one of the tools available today, or you want to shoot a video tutorial, or if you simply want to share with someone what you are seeing on your mobile phone or iPhone, maybe the excellent result obtained in a game session, or whatever.
Screen video
In any case, you can avoid having to shoot the screen of the iPhone or Android smartphone with another device andrecord a video of the screenusing special apps.
First of all, we specify that it is not easy to disentangle and orient oneself among the variousthird-party appsthat promise to record the screen of the Android smartphone and even less of the iPhone. Many do not work properly or do not respond to what is really their need, for example allowing only to register Web pages, which is not exactly what we are talking about in this tutorial.
The screen videos can also be shot byprojecting the phone screen on a computer(Windows or MacOS) and then using PC programs that go to film everything that happens on the display.
Let’s see how.
How to make iPhone video screen
To resume what is happening on theiPhone screen, record the iOS desktop, apps or games and save it as a video, the best solution is to take advantage of the appropriate function already available by default on your iPhone, at least on the system versions Apple’s mobile operating from iOS 11 onwards.
The function already integrated in iOS, from version 11 to later, is called precisely ”Screen recording“. To start recording the iPhone screen just call the Control Center by swiping from the bottom of the screen and press the button that will appear with the REC symbol.
In the event that for some reason this function is not available, the following steps must be followed:
- go to the home screen of the melafonino;
- go to Settings;
- choose the Control Center item;
- go to the item Customize controls;
- select the plus symbol, “+”, which is located under the Screen recording item.
This procedure allows you toenable the functionand to start a short countdown, displayed on the button previously pressed. After the countdown the button will become colored and the recording of the screen of your iPhone will start.
To exit the Control Center just make another swipe, from top to bottom, and then reproduce on the iPhone screen what you intended to record. During the entire recording time, ared barwill appear at the top of the iPhone screenwhich makes it clear that you are making a video of everything that is happening on the display of the melafonino.
By acting on this control bar it is possible to stop the recording: simply touch it to bring up a dialog box that will ask the user if he really intends to stop the recording or if it was an error. In which case just choose the “Cancel” option to continue filming the iPhone display. It should be noted that the screen recording is stopped even when the iPhone display freezes.
A special notification of the Screen Recording feature will inform the user of the end of the recording. By tapping this alert you will be able to immediately access the file stored on the device. In any case, once the video recording of the iPhone screen is finished, the file is stored by the iPhone in thePhotos appof the melafonino, in the Video album.
Another important thing to underline: the recordings are saved inMP4format and can be recordedwith or without audio(which can also be added later, during video editing, also with iMovie, or with another application of this kind, directly from the iPhone).
In case you have an iPhone with an iOS version prior to 11 installed, there are no apps or solutions that allow you to make a video of the screen directly from the iPhone without going through a jailbreak procedure. One of the possible solutions is to connect the iPhone to a computer, or to a Mac, projecting the screen inmirroringmodeand record your activities via Windows or macOS.
To activate the mirroring option on the iPhone, you must return to the Control Center of the phone, always swiping from the bottom of the screen upwards, press the “Duplicate screen” or “Duplication Airplay” button if necessary, if you do not see them immediately these items, making a new swipe from left to right to change the Control Center page and then select the name of your PC or Mac from the menu that will open.
Now everything is ready to record what is happening on the iPhone screen, or almost: software will be needed to record the screen of your PC or Mac.
In the first case, PC withWindowsoperating system , there are not many free applications, but there is more than one that allows you to make a free trial for a certain period of time. Among the best software to record the iPhone screen from a PC we mention:
- Reflector(cost 14.99 euros, but with the possibility of trial for 7 days as long as you are willing to add their watermark to the video), which also works as an AirPlay or Google Cast receiver;
- the freeOpen Broadcaster Software, which allows not only to record the PC screen, but also to shoot the webcam;
- AirServer(cost 13.99 euros, with free trial for 7 days always with watermark) which works in a very similar way to Reflector, also performing the task of AirPlay or Google Cast receiver allowing you to record the iPhone screen (but also iPad and Android devices) wirelessly.
If you have aMacavailable, the operation is certainly easier, above all because it already has all the software you may need to record the video of the iPhone screen. Just follow these steps:
- connect the iPhone to the Mac using the Lightning / Dock cable supplied with the iPhone;
- openQuickTime Player, already present in all versions of macOS;
- click with the right mouse button on the QuickTime icon that appears in the Dock bar;
- select the “New movie recording” item from the menu that will appear;
- click on the arrow displayed next to the Rec button in the window that will open;
- select the iPhone item from the Camera menu.
At this point, the iPhone screen will be projected onto the Mac desk. To record what is happening, simply press the “Rec” button, or the red dot that appears on the screen, and register.
To save the video, first click on the “Stop” button to stop recording and then choose the preferred option for saving from the “File” menu, under “Export”. The movie can be saved in 1080p resolution, in 720p, in an optimized version for iPad / iPhone and in various other ways.
In this way, unlike the Screen Recording function implemented by default in iOS 11 and later, you can also include your own voice in the recording. To includevoice recording,click on the arrow located next to the Rec button in the QuickTime window and select the “Integrated input” option from the “Microphone” menu.
If, on the other hand, you have no problemsjailbreaking, or unlocking your iPhone, then you can search for and use one of the many screen recording applications on the latter that can be found onCydia, the alternative iOS store available only on jailbroken devices. An example?
AntRec, free software capable of guaranteeing excellent results, which allows you to record everything that happens on the iPhone screen, including apps and games, and offers the possibility to recover with the front camera of the phone and to carry out direct on Twitch.
How to make Android video screen
Tofilm the screen of your Android smartphonewithout resorting to the computer there are certainly many more free solutions, almost always also extremely intuitive but, a bit like we explained for the iPhone, to use them you need to have a recent version of Android. These are third-party apps that can be installed on the phone to record everything that happens on your home screen, your games and your favorite apps.
Among the most valid Android smartphone apps we mentionADV Screen Recorder, a free application, downloadable from the Play Store, which does not require root permissions to function and is compatible with Android versions from 5.0 onwards. Once downloaded you can also view a handy initial tutorial that explains how it works (pressing “Skip” you can skip this step).
By pressing the “…” button located at the top right and selecting the “Settings” item from the menu that opens, you can adjust various settings related to video recording:
- Video resolution, to set the resolution of the output video;
- Record Audio, to activate or deactivate audio recording;
- Use camera, to activate or deactivate the display of a frame with the shot of your face or anything else taken from the front camera of your smartphone.
To start the recording, simply press the ADV Screen Recorder logo located at the top right of the app’s home screen, then the “OK” button and finally “Start now”. Once everything is ready to start the movie (for example open the app or game you want to shoot), just press the camera icon located at the top right to start recording the movie. At this point the app will record everything that happens on the screen of the Android smartphone.
At the end of the shooting it is possible to preview it andedit the video, that is, you can cut or share the final result using the functions included in the ADV Screen Recorder.
Another very similar app isRec Screen Recorder, it also works with all the latest versions of Android, but on Android 4.4.x it needs root permissions (on Android 5.x and above no).
For fans of video games there is alsoGoogle Play Games, the official Google app for the management of video games on Android that also allows you to perform the recording of the screen in SD or HD while playing the supported video games, to then share them on YouTube or on another platform.
For older versions of Android, as for iOS, you have to rely on a PC. In addition to Reflector, as a software we mentionMobizen, free and to be installed on a computer and as an app for the phone to: control the smartphone remotely (if root is enabled), record what is happening on the screen, share files and so on in mode wireless or wired.
It is compatible with Android 4.2 and later. It can also be used with iPhone, but in a more limited way and only on condition that Apple iTunes is installed on the computer.
How to make Samsung video screen
Depending on the brand of the device you are using, it is possible that there are optimized versions of the apps, also due to the user interfaces customized by the different smartphone manufacturers, as often happens forSamsung smartphoneswhose operating system is usually Android.
For example Mobizen is also available in the form of an app for recording the screen on Android and there is a special version for Samsung devices. As for other Android smartphones, even in the case of Samsung devices, among the best apps for making screen video recordings are Rec Screen Recorder and ADV Screen Recorder.
How to make Huawei video screen
A little different is the case ofHuawei smartphones, which has already integrated a feature for recording screen videos by default. Obviously the possibility remains to turn to the aforementioned third-party apps or to go through the intermediation of a computer.
To take advantage of the integrated Huawei feature, to record a video screen you can proceed in two ways:
- start the video recording of the smartphone screen by pressing the followingkey combinationfor a few seconds : Volume Up + Power Off;
- touch the appropriate quick start icon in the Android Notification Center, to be opened by swiping from top to bottom, near the upper edge of the display. Performing another swipe from top to bottom on the Notification Center will open the menu of quick start icons relating to the device’s functionality, here it must be selected for the “Record screen” feature, after which the countdown will start at the end of which recording will start immediately.
To stop recording, in both cases, press the “Stop” button, which is located at the top. The screen video will be recorded in the multimedia gallery of the smartphone, under the heading “Screen recordings”.