Apple lists five video formats for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max: 4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30, 60, 100 or 120 fps, Cinematic mode up to 4K Dolby Vision at 60 fps, ProRes up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording, spatial video at 1080p and 30 fps, and 4K Dolby Vision HDR time-lapse. One of them is the setting to leave the camera on, and the other four exist for jobs you can name before you press record.
The list is identical on both sizes, so video is not part of the choice between the 6.3-inch Pro and the 6.9-inch Pro Max, which our size comparison covers on every other count. It is also separate from the variable aperture, which decides how a frame is exposed rather than how it is written.
The five formats Apple publishes
| Format | Apple’s published ceiling | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 4K Dolby Vision | 24, 25, 30, 60, 100 or 120 fps | Standard recording, no external condition attached |
| Cinematic mode | Up to 4K Dolby Vision at 60 fps | Depth of field effect that shifts focus between subjects |
| ProRes | Up to 4K at 120 fps | Apple specifies external recording at that ceiling |
| Spatial video | 1080p at 30 fps | The only mode Apple does not list in 4K |
| Time-lapse | 4K Dolby Vision HDR | Named as new in Apple’s September 9 release |
Those come from Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro tech specs and its September 9 press release, which we covered in full on launch day. Apple has not published a data rate for any of them, so file sizes are not something anyone can calculate yet.
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4K Dolby Vision is the default, and the frame rate is the real decision
Dolby Vision is the HDR format Apple records in, and it applies across all six frame rates on the list. Choosing between them is the one setting that changes both the size of the file and what can be done with the clip afterwards.
The 24 and 25 fps options match film and European broadcast conventions. 30 fps is the common default for phone video, and 60 fps captures twice as many frames each second as 30.
100 and 120 fps exist to be slowed down
A clip captured at a high frame rate can be stretched across a slower timeline, and the ratio is arithmetic on Apple’s published capture rates rather than a claim Apple makes.
| Recorded at | On a 24 fps timeline | On a 25 fps timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 30 fps | 1.25x slower | 1.2x slower |
| 60 fps | 2.5x slower | 2.4x slower |
| 100 fps | About 4.17x slower | 4x slower |
| 120 fps | 5x slower | 4.8x slower |
Apple publishes the capture rates and does not publish a separate slow-motion figure for iPhone 18 Pro, so the table above is the honest way to read the top two options.
Cinematic mode, ProRes and spatial video each carry a limit
Cinematic mode records the depth of field effect and tops out at 4K Dolby Vision at 60 fps, half the ceiling of standard recording. That makes it a choice you commit to at the start of a take.
ProRes reaches 4K at 120 fps only with external recording, in Apple’s wording, so the top ProRes setting is a two-device arrangement rather than something the phone does alone. The port for it is USB-C with USB 3 at up to 10 Gb/s.
Spatial video is fixed at 1080p and 30 fps. Apple lists no other resolution for it, and no equivalent line appears on the iPhone Duo camera specs.
Time-lapse is the format Apple actually called out
Apple’s September 9 release named three video changes: Cinematic effects at up to 60 fps, 4K Dolby Vision HDR time-lapse and an enhanced Audio Mix with music isolation. Time-lapse in Dolby Vision HDR is the addition with no previous figure attached to it, which means Apple has given the new capability without stating what it replaced.
What Apple has not said
- No data rate, bit rate or file size for any of the five formats.
- No guidance on how many minutes of any format fit in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB.
- No drive, cable or adapter requirement for ProRes external recording.
- No playback destination for spatial video, on iPhone or anywhere else.
- No 8K mode anywhere on the sheet, and no frame rate above 120 fps.
Pre-orders open Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT and the phone reaches stores on Friday, September 18. iOS 27 arrives as a free update on Monday, September 14, two days after ordering starts.
