iPhone 16 Pro Models Rumored to Support 4K/120 FPS Video Recording, 8K Video Allegedly Tested

The upcoming iPhone 16 Pro models will be able to record 4K video at up to 120 FPS, according to "reliable sources" cited in a 9to5Mac report today. For comparison, all four iPhone 15 models are capable of 4K video recording at up to 60 FPS.

iPhone 16 Cameras Feature 1
The report adds that Apple has allegedly tested 8K video recording on the iPhone 16 Pro models, but it is unclear if this capability will be enabled. Since an 8K image is around 33 megapixels, the rumored 48-megapixel Main and Ultra Wide cameras on the iPhone 16 Pro models would be capable of 8K video recording, but the 12-megapixel Telephoto camera would not be. With the iPhone 17 Pro Max rumored to gain a 48-megapixel Telephoto camera next year, the report said 8K video recording might debut on that device instead.

In addition, the report said the iPhone's built-in Camera app will finally allow you to pause and resume a singular video recording.

Many other details mentioned in the report have already been rumored by other sources, including support for a new JPEG-XL image format, the Capture/Camera button supporting third-party apps, and both iPhone 16 Pro models supporting the 5x optical zoom functionality that debuted on the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 16 series during its special event on Monday.

Related Roundup: iPhone 16 Pro
Tag: 9to5Mac

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Latest iPhone 17 Series CAD Images in Line With Redesign Rumors

Friday February 28, 2025 2:51 am PST by
Apple is expected to embrace a new camera system design for some models in its upcoming iPhone 17 series, and the latest purported CAD images don't deviate from what we have been hearing lately about Apple's new lineup. If you do not like the sound of an iPhone with a Google Pixel-style camera bar, look away now. Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson shared the following images in a post on X...
iphone 16e usb c feature

Apple Provides Reason for iPhone 16e's Lack of MagSafe

Friday February 28, 2025 4:39 am PST by
Apple has offered a reason why the iPhone 16e doesn't include MagSafe, one of the more notable omissions from its latest entry-level smartphone. According to Apple representatives who spoke to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because "most people in the iPhone 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging...
apple intelligence black

These New Apple Intelligence Features Are Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday February 28, 2025 3:17 pm PST by
iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April. Priority Notifications Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Saturday March 1, 2025 11:00 am PST by
iOS 19 is still around three months away from being unveiled, but there are plenty of rumors about the upcoming update. Below, we recap iOS 19 rumors so far. Redesigned Camera App A leak earlier this year allegedly revealed a redesigned Camera app coming with iOS 19. On his YouTube channel Front Page Tech in January, Jon Prosser shared a video showing what the new Camera app will...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
apple c1

How Fast is Apple's First-Ever 5G Modem? The Results Are Surprising

Friday February 28, 2025 10:08 am PST by
iPhone 16e reviews are now out, and Apple's custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the test. The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected. While the C1 does not support ultra-fast mmWave 5G in the U.S., it appears to offer comparable 5G performance to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem found in the iPhone 16,...

Top Rated Comments

coffeemilktea Avatar
25 weeks ago
I'm going to take so many videos of the neighborhood cats at glorious 4K 120fps... never mind that most people's displays can't keep up. ?

(I think 8K isn't quite... there... yet, as far as phones' ability to film video are concerned. For that matter, I don't know many people with 8K displays to begin with...?)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
otozuz Avatar
25 weeks ago
I remember a time when I was looking for a camera that could decently record 1080 at 120fps. Crazy to think of 4K at 120 fps in a phone form factor.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MayaUser Avatar
25 weeks ago
Thats impressive , thanks to the new A18 pro SoC
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blairo32 Avatar
25 weeks ago
I know it's a novel feature that alot might not use. But I would love to get better slow motion capture too. Just fun to play around with every now and then.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cloudyskies22 Avatar
25 weeks ago
This would be awesome. 8K is actually far better than you think. It’s not about having an 8K display, those are almost useless, it’s about the data captured. With an 8K capture you get numerous potential benefits with only increased storage as a negative, this is via chatGPT, but I knew of several of these before asking:

1. **Higher Detail**: 8K captures four times the resolution of 4K, so when downscaled to 4K, the video retains much more detail, offering sharper images and better clarity.

2. **Improved Cropping & Reframing**: With 8K footage, you can crop or reframe parts of the video in post-production without losing significant detail, giving greater flexibility in editing while still maintaining a 4K resolution.

3. **Better Stabilization**: The extra resolution allows for more effective digital stabilization. You can adjust the framing to compensate for shaky footage without a noticeable loss in quality.

4. **Enhanced Zooming**: If you zoom into an 8K video when playing it back on a 4K screen, it will still look sharp and detailed compared to zooming in on 4K video, which would lose quality more quickly.

5. **Better Color Information**: 8K video often comes with increased dynamic range and richer color data, resulting in a more vibrant and lifelike image, even when downscaled to 4K.

6. **Enhanced Compression Efficiency**: Recording in 8K and compressing to 4K can result in more efficient video compression, maintaining higher quality at lower file sizes when exported in 4K.


One of the big things to me is the retention of much greater detail when downscaled. So if you watched the 8K video on your TV at home I believe it would look dramatically better than a 4K iPhone video on your TV or iPad. 8K would be nuts. Obviously this iPhone will start with only 8K 30FPS, but future iPhones will hit 60FPS and eventually 120FPS of course.

Right now when you use stabilization it crops in to compensate for some camera shakiness. Obviously if shooting in 8K it can crop in and you’d get above 4K rather than the current, below 4K stabilized image. Also, like taking a 2X zoomed picture thanks to the 48MP sensors today, you’d be able to zoom in when recording to 2X and maintain the 4K video quality.

Also, for the new 48MP ultra wide sensor, I believe due to it being 48MP, they may be able to reduce the fisheye effect more, cropping the end edges some which are the most effected, and maybe use more processing on the image since it has more detail to combat it further still.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jayducharme Avatar
25 weeks ago
I wonder how many people would record in 8k on their iPhone? I would think "pros" would use a Red or other industry standard camera for that purpose. I already struggle with the massive file sizes of 4k recording on my iPhone. 8k would be pointless with a base 128 gb storage option.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)