Reduce iPhone Video Size: Quick and Easy Steps

iPhone video editing offers basic tools similar to photo editing. While you can adjust elements like exposure in photos, video editing focuses on trimming. However, unlike photos, you can only trim the beginning or end of a video, not remove sections in the middle. To trim a video, simply open the Photos app, select the video, and tap “Edit” in the top right corner.

A video player interface should be visible at the bottom of the screen. This interface includes a sequence of thumbnails representing key frames from your video, a play/pause button for playback control, navigational arrows for traversing the thumbnails, and a vertical seek bar for precise video position selection.

1. Slide the vertical bar up and down until it reaches the exact part you want to start or end the final video.
2. Drag the left or right arrow (depending on whether you’re cutting from the beginning or end) to match the position of the vertical bar.
3. Tap “Done” to finish your edits.

Saving your work:

• “Save Video” will replace the original video with your trimmed version.
• “Save Video as New Clip” will keep the original video and save your edit as a separate file.

Focus on the benefit of avoiding unnecessary storage usage: Choosing “Save Video as New Clip” lets you keep only the trimmed version, saving valuable storage space on your iPhone. This is because the original video remains on your device until you manually delete it.

The Shortcuts app on your iPhone provides a quick and efficient way to compress files, including videos. While Apple doesn’t offer a built-in compression shortcut, you can easily create one using the app. I’ve made a shortcut for you which you can download, or you can follow these steps to create your own:

• You can use Shortcuts to compress videos on iPhone.
• There’s no built-in shortcut, but you can create your own using the app.
• You can download the pre-made shortcut or follow the steps to create your own.

It’s time to give your shortcut a name! Tap the dropdown menu next to “New Shortcut” and choose “Rename.” Then, name it something easy to remember, like “Compress Video.”

Building your shortcut requires adding specific actions, so pay close attention, as missing any step can prevent it from working correctly. First, tap the “Add Action” button and use the search bar to find the “Get Images from Input” action.

Underneath “Input,” choose “Shortcut Input.”

Tap “Nowhere” to change the location.

Then select “Show in Share Sheet.”

The next step is to add the “Set Variable” action. Simply search for it using the search bar at the bottom of the screen.

Name the variable “Video,” then tap “Images.”

A menu will pop up offering two options. It’s important to tap “Clear Variables” first to ensure no leftover settings interfere with the process. Then, change the “Input” to “Shortcut Input” to specify the source of the video you want to compress.

Now, find and add the “Count” and “If” actions. Inside the “If” action, set the condition to “is greater than” and the number to “0.” This checks if there are any videos available.

Set the condition to “is greater than.”

Then, set the number to “0.”

Search and add the “Get Variable” action.

Then, change your variable to “Video.”

Press and hold the line representing the “If” action. You’ll see it can be moved. Drag and drop it just above the “Otherwise” section, which sits directly under the “If” section.

Add the “Select Photos” action.

To allow compression of multiple videos at once, tap the blue arrow next to the “Count” action and switch on the “Select Multiple” option.

Now, use the same technique to move the action again. This time, drag and drop it one position higher, placing it right between the “Otherwise” and “End If” sections.

The heart of this shortcut is the “Encode Media” action. This action actually compresses your video. Find and add it, and it should automatically be called “Encode If Result.”

Tap the blue arrow beside it and change the size to “Ask Each Time.”

Add the “Choose from Menu” action and name your prompts.

I chose “Save to Camera Roll” and “Share” as the output options, but you can customize them to your preferences.

To define where the compressed video goes, search and add both the “Save to Photo Album” and “Share” actions.

Beside the “Save” option, tap the “Input” field and choose “Variables” from the menu that appears.

Then select “Encoded Media.”

Do the same to the Share action’s menu result next to “Share.”

To finalize the shortcut, drag and drop the “Save” and “Share” actions underneath the corresponding prompts. Once everything is in place, hit “Done” in the top right corner.

Once you’ve created the shortcut, using it is easy! Just open the video you want to shrink and tap the share icon. You can even use voice commands! Say “Hey Siri, Compress Video” (or your chosen name for the shortcut) to activate it.

Scroll down and select “Compress Video.”

Specify the new resolution you want the video to be in after compression.

You have options: save the video to your device’s photo storage, open it with a chosen application, or send it to someone else.

iMovie, readily available on the App Store, offers another method for compressing videos on your iPhone. While it may not be as advanced as some editing software, its user-friendly interface makes it a convenient choice for on-the-go compression.

Choose the target video for compression and then tap “Create Magic Movie” at the bottom of the screen.

After completing any desired edits, tap “Done” in the top left corner to proceed.

To share your compressed video, tap the “Export and Share” button in the top right corner and choose “Share Video.”

 Hit “Options” to pick the video size (smaller size means smaller file).

Tap “Done” and save the smaller video to your iPhone or share it right away.