How to trim a video on iPhone
You can trim a video on iPhone without installing anything. The Photos app has it built in.
In the Photos app
- Open the video in Photos and tap Edit.
- Drag the handles at either end of the filmstrip. The section you keep stays bright.
- Play it back with the play button to check the cut.
- Tap Done, then choose how to save it.
Save Video or Save as New Clip
This is the step people get wrong.
- Save Video replaces the original. The trim is reversible in Photos, but only on that device, and only until you edit again.
- Save as New Clip keeps the original untouched and writes a second file.
Pick Save as New Clip if the footage matters. There is no undo once it has synced and the original is gone from your device.
Where the Photos app runs out
Photos is fine for a rough cut. It stops short in four places:
- The cut is not frame exact. Dragging a handle on a phone screen gets you within about a quarter of a second. If you need the cut on a specific frame, you cannot get there by thumb.
- It re-encodes. Every save runs the video through the encoder again, so you lose a little quality each round.
- One clip at a time. There is no batch.
- No aspect ratio control. You cannot trim and output 9:16 or 1:1 in one pass.
Trimming in the browser instead
If you need the cut on an exact frame, or you have twenty clips to get through, do it in a browser. Our trimmer runs on your phone or your laptop, and the file never leaves the device: there is no upload and no account.
- Open the trimmer and drop the video in.
- Drag the in and out handles, or press I and O to set them at the current position.
- Turn on frame-accurate if you need the cut exactly where you put it.
- Press Export.
With frame-accurate off, the cut lands on the nearest keyframe and the export is nearly instant, because nothing is re-encoded. With it on, the clip is re-encoded so the cut lands exactly where you asked.
Questions
Does trimming on iPhone lose quality?
A little, yes. Photos re-encodes on save. One trim is not noticeable. Five rounds of trimming the same clip is.
Can I get the original back after trimming?
If you used Save Video, open the clip in Photos, tap Edit, then Revert. If you used Save as New Clip, the original was never touched.
Why does my trim start slightly late?
Video is only seekable at keyframes, often one every one to two seconds. Editors that do not re-encode snap the cut to the nearest one. Turn on frame-accurate to override that.