Spatial video on iPhone 18 Pro records at 1080p and 30 fps, according to Apple’s tech specs, which makes it the only video mode on the sheet that does not reach 4K. Apple publishes that capture figure and nothing at all about where the result is meant to be watched.
That is the whole published position, and it is worth knowing before the format decides anything: everything Apple has stated about spatial video on this phone is one line long.
Key facts on spatial video
| Item | What Apple publishes |
|---|---|
| Spatial video capture | 1080p at 30 fps |
| Every other rear video mode | Up to 4K, and up to 120 fps in Dolby Vision |
| Difference between sizes | None, the same line on both models |
| Playback device | Not named in the iPhone 18 Pro specs |
| iPhone Duo | Apple does not list spatial video |
| visionOS 27 | Free update, Monday, September 14 |
The capture figure comes from Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro tech specs, the phones Apple announced on September 9.
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The one mode that stays at 1080p
| Mode | Resolution | Frame rate |
|---|---|---|
| 4K Dolby Vision | 4K | Up to 120 fps |
| ProRes | 4K | Up to 120 fps, external recording |
| Cinematic mode | 4K Dolby Vision | Up to 60 fps |
| Time-lapse | 4K Dolby Vision HDR | Not published |
| Spatial video | 1080p | 30 fps |
Apple gives no reason for the gap between 1080p30 here and 4K120 everywhere else, and it publishes no data rate for either, so the trade is stated without being explained. It is the one place on the video sheet where the newest Pro iPhone lists a figure that would have looked ordinary several generations ago, and Apple leaves it there without comment.
Where Apple’s spatial features live
Apple Vision Pro is the only product in Apple’s September software pages with spatial features of its own. visionOS 27 arrives free on Monday, September 14, the same day as iOS 27, and its new features include turning a panorama into a spatial scene to use as a personal Environment.
Apple’s Apple Intelligence page covers Apple Vision Pro from M2 onward, and the current Vision Pro spec page lists an M5 chip. Apple has published no compatibility list for spatial video playback and has not said which devices, its own or anyone else’s, can show it.
Three things spatial video is not
Spatial Reframing is an iOS 27 photo tool, not this. Apple describes it as reframing a photo after it has been taken, and it sits in Photos alongside the Extend tool and an enhanced Clean Up. It applies to stills and has nothing to do with the 1080p30 capture mode.
Dual Capture is an iPhone Duo feature that records the front and rear cameras at once at 4K 30, and Apple lists it only on the foldable. Personalized Spatial Audio is an AirPods feature about sound placement. The word spatial covers three unrelated things in Apple’s September pages, which is part of why the capture mode is easy to misread.
iPhone Duo does not list it
Apple’s iPhone Duo tech specs run through 4K Dolby Vision at 24 to 120 fps, Cinematic mode up to 4K 60, Action mode up to 2.8K 60, slo-mo, Dual Capture at 4K 30 and time-lapse. Spatial video is not among them, and our iPhone Duo camera breakdown goes through the four cameras in detail.
On the September 2026 lineup, then, spatial capture is a line on the iPhone 18 Pro sheet and not on the foldable’s, which is one of the quieter differences in our Duo versus iPhone 18 Pro Max comparison.
What Apple has not said
- Where a spatial video can be watched, on Apple hardware or anywhere else.
- Any data rate or file size, so the storage cost of the format is unknown.
- Why the mode is capped at 1080p and 30 fps when the rest of the sheet reaches 4K120.
- Whether spatial clips can be edited, converted or shared as ordinary video.
- Which cameras on the phone capture it.
Pre-orders open Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT, the phone reaches stores on Friday, September 18, and visionOS 27 and iOS 27 both arrive free on Monday, September 14.
