How to edit a video on iPhone: Photos first, then iMovie

Start in the Photos app

You don't need to download anything to edit a video on an iPhone. The Photos app already has an editor, and for one clip it covers the basics: making it shorter, changing its shape, fixing the light and adding a filter.

Every edit starts the same way: open Photos, tap the video to open it, then tap the Edit button. Along the bottom of the edit screen are the tools, which Apple names Video, Audio Mix, Adjust, Filters and Crop.

The steps in this guide come from Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 27, read on 6 October 2026. If your iPhone runs an older version, a button may sit somewhere else. Each section links the Apple page it follows, and you can pick your iOS version at the top of those pages.

Trim the start and end

Trimming removes the bit at the start where you reach for the phone and the bit at the end where you stop recording. These steps follow Apple's page on how to trim video length, adjust speed and edit audio.

1. Open the video and tap the Edit button

   A strip of small pictures from your video appears below it. Apple calls this the frame viewer.

2. Drag either end of the frame viewer

   Drag the left end to where the video should start and the right end to where it should stop.

3. Tap Done

   You're asked how to save.

4. Choose how to save

   Tap Save Video to keep only the trimmed version, or Save Video as New Clip to keep both the trimmed version and the original.

Crop, rotate or straighten the picture

Use the crop tool when the video is sideways, the horizon is tilted, or you want a different shape. These steps follow Apple's page on how to crop, rotate, flip or straighten photos and videos.

1. Open the video, tap the Edit button, then tap the Crop button

   A rectangle appears around the picture.

2. Crop by hand

   Drag the corners of the rectangle around the part you want to keep, or pinch open or closed. Dragging a corner keeps the original shape; tap the lock at the top-right corner of the picture to unlock it.

3. Or pick a preset shape

   Tap the aspect ratio button and choose an option such as Square or 9:16. 9:16 is the tall shape Reels, TikTok and Shorts use.

4. Rotate or flip

   Tap the Rotate button to turn the picture 90 degrees. Tap the Flip button to flip it horizontally.

5. Straighten

   Tap a button below the frame to straighten, tilt vertically or tilt horizontally, then drag the slider.

6. Tap Done

   If you don't like the result, tap Cancel, then Discard Changes.

Cropping a wide video to 9:16 throws away the sides, so check that you are still in the frame for the whole clip. The exact sizes each app wants are on our Instagram Reel size page.

Fix the light and colour, or add a filter

A video filmed indoors often looks dull or dark. Photos can fix that for the whole clip at once. These steps follow Apple's page on how to edit photos and videos.

1. Open the video, tap the Edit button, then tap Adjust

   Swipe left under the video to see the settings, such as Exposure, Brilliance and Highlights.

2. Tap a setting and drag the slider

   Exposure makes the whole picture brighter or darker. Small changes look better than big ones.

3. Or let the iPhone do it

   Tap the Enhance button to improve the light and colour automatically.

4. Add a filter if you want one

   Tap the Filters button, tap a filter such as Vivid or Dramatic, then drag the slider to make it stronger or weaker.

5. Tap Done

   To back out, tap Cancel, then Discard Changes.

If you film a set of clips in the same room, you don't have to repeat this for each one. Open the edited video, tap the More button, then Copy Edits. Open another video, tap the More button, then Paste Edits.

Slow a video down

Apple's trim page describes two speed controls. Which one you see depends on how the video was filmed.

• Any video filmed at a high frame rate: open it, tap the Edit button, tap Video, tap the Playback Speed button, then tap a speed. Apple notes that the choices depend on the format you filmed in.
• A video filmed in Slo-mo mode: open it and tap the Edit button. Drag the black vertical bars beneath the frame viewer to set which part plays in slow motion.

Apple describes this as a way to slow a video down. Its page doesn't list a way to speed up a normal video in Photos; iMovie has its own speed control for that.

Undo an edit or go back to the original

Edits in Photos aren't permanent, with one exception. These steps follow Apple's page on how to undo and revert edits.

• While you're editing: tap the Undo and Redo buttons at the top of the screen to step back and forward. Tap the video to compare your edit with the original.
• After you've saved: open the edited video, tap the More button, then tap Revert to Original.

What the Photos app doesn't do

Photos edits one video at a time. Apple's Photos pages for iOS 27 don't list a way to do any of these:

• Join two or more clips into one video.
• Cut a mistake out of the middle of a clip.
• Add a title or background music.
• Add captions that follow what you say. The text and sticker tool on Apple's page is described for photos.
• Turn the sound off. The audio tool Apple describes, Audio Mix, changes how a video sounds, and only for video recorded with Spatial Audio on supported models.

For a single clip that only needs tidying, that's no problem. For a talking video with retakes in it, you need the next step up.

Move to iMovie to join clips, add titles and music

iMovie is Apple's free video editor. It has no paid version; our iMovie pricing page lists what's in it. These steps follow Apple's iMovie User Guide for iPhone, which describes iMovie 3.0.4.

1. Start a movie project

   Open iMovie, tap Start New Project, then tap Movie. Tap the clips you want, in any order, then tap Create Movie at the bottom of the screen. Your clips now sit in a row called the timeline.

2. Put the clips in order

   Touch and hold a clip until it pops off the timeline, drag it to its new place and let go.

3. Shorten a clip

   Tap the clip in the timeline, then drag either yellow trim handle.

4. Cut a mistake out of the middle

   Scroll the timeline so the white line (the playhead) sits where the mistake starts. Tap the clip, tap the Actions button, then tap Split. Do the same where the mistake ends. Tap the piece between the two cuts, then tap Delete.

5. Add a title

   Tap a clip, tap the Titles button and pick a title. Tap the sample title in the viewer, tap Edit, type your words, then tap Done on the keyboard.

6. Add music

   Tap the Add Media button, tap Audio, then tap Soundtracks. Tap a soundtrack to hear it, then tap the Add Audio button. iMovie lowers the music whenever a clip with sound is playing.

7. Turn a clip's sound off

   Tap the clip, tap the Audio button, then tap the Mute button next to the volume slider.

8. Save the finished video

   Go back to the Projects browser and tap your project. Tap the Share button, tap Share Video, then tap Save Video to put it in your photo library.

Step four is where the time goes. A two-minute take of you talking can hold a lot of pauses and repeated lines, and each one is two splits and a delete on a small screen. Those cuts are called jump cuts; our jump cut guide explains how to make them look intentional.

Which iPhone video editor to use for what

There isn't one best video editor for iPhone. The best one is the simplest app that does the job in front of you.

Captions are the reason most people leave Apple's apps. iMovie's titles are typed in by hand, one clip at a time, and Apple's guide doesn't list captions made from your voice. CapCut lists auto captions under its Pro plan, at $19.99 a month on the US App Store: see CapCut pricing. InShot lists auto captions too, and its Pro upgrade is $4.99 a month: see InShot pricing. CapCut is also known for its templates, which Apple's apps don't offer in the same way. If iMovie is the app you've outgrown, we compare iMovie alternatives as well.

Whichever app adds your captions, keep them clear of the buttons the social apps draw over your video. The safe zone checker shows where those are. If this is your first edit, video editing for beginners walks through the whole job in order, and video editing tips has ways to make it quicker.