Apple today shared a YouTube video that's designed to highlight the iPhone 14 Pro's camera capabilities, focusing specifically on Action Mode.


Action Mode is designed to offer extra stabilization when capturing video while moving, making it ideal for fun shots that otherwise would not be possible without expensive equipment. Apple designed Action Mode to replicate the video quality you might get using a gimbal.

Apple's video demonstrates a number of Action Mode shots using 360 rotating, aerial tracking, rolling, and more. Each demo includes a side-by-side of the video with and without Action Mode enabled, clearly showing the difference and the benefit of the feature.

Action Mode is available on all of the iPhone 14 devices.

Article Link: Apple Highlights iPhone 14 Pro's Action Mode in New 'Shot on iPhone' Video

This is truly incredible technology, especially for a consumer device.

pretty amazing. I'll need to try running down some dirt trails, with my phone, and see what I get.
note to self: buy Apple Care first.

This is very impressive.

Does Action Mode kill the battery though?

Shot on iPhone....ummm has a ring to it

Isn't this basically OIS? Those non-stabilized shots look like they were taking with no OIS at all. How many camera tests show people running and it's nothing like the shakiness seen in that video? And the Action Shots are cool, but they look like a slightly improved upon OIS, no? Not trying to sound too cynical, just curious more than anything.

Nobody is doing any of this stuff. Again: Like Facebook post, Tik Tok dancing, commenting Macrumors and watching YouTube unboxing reviews.

jntdroid said:

Isn't this basically OIS? Those non-stabilized shots look like they were taking with no OIS at all. How many camera tests show people running and it's nothing like the shakiness seen in that video? And the Action Shots are cool, but they look like a slightly improved upon OIS, no? Not trying to sound too cynical, just curious more than anything.

I completely agree.

This shaking videos look like iPhone 4 footage.

That tire rolling shot makes me sick just thinking about it.
Btw, who has a big tractor tire just laying around, the means to transport it to location (vehicle and crew), and someone small enough to get inside just for that shot?

PowerButton said:

That tire rolling shot makes me sick just thinking about it.
Btw, who has a big tractor tire just laying around, the means to transport it to location (vehicle and crew), and someone small enough to get inside just for that shot?

Based on the homes, it looks like it was filmed in Los Angeles/Santa Monica. Lots of people there that could film something like this.

I completely forgot I had this feature, lol. There are so many little buttons now on the camera screen that I ignore many of them.

They need to get this to the point where it can do 4K in action mode. Right now it seems to be limited to 2.8K 60fps. I get that it's cropping in on the sensor to stabilize, but the main sensor is 48MP. It should be able to pull a good 4K out of the middle of that. Maybe they thought it was too confusing to kick out of 4K to 2.8K when switching between cameras? Because the 12MP sensors would probably need more room to stabilize on the sensor. Wish there was a toggle to offer 4K on the main camera. You'd think the A16 could handle the real-time 4K sensor cropping stabilization but maybe that is the limitation?

Either way we'll probably get it in an iPhone or two down the road. For now 2.8K is better than shaky 4K for situations that warrant it. I kinda wish it could turn on automatically when it detects too much motion as I'm unlikely to remember to use it. Again, that will likely have to wait until it can do 4K across the board because it would mess with the video resolution. IDK.

How different is action mode from just recording normally and using iMovie’s built in stabilization settings?

Why no cases on their phones?

Very creative!

The rolling tyre was fun, and the skateboarder at the end moved like a dancer. It was clear from these and the other shots featured that you can achieve useful and dynamic content right out of the box with iPhone, which I think is a key point.

I'm liking the ideas here; even if it's not possible to incorporate the exact shots used in everyday filming, this kind of content – much like the 'Experiments' series  created for previous iPhone releases – encourages me to think more about how I'm capturing photos and videos. The result can be I have even slightly more interesting content 😄

jntdroid said:

Isn't this basically OIS? Those non-stabilized shots look like they were taking with no OIS at all. How many camera tests show people running and it's nothing like the shakiness seen in that video? And the Action Shots are cool, but they look like a slightly improved upon OIS, no? Not trying to sound too cynical, just curious more than anything.

I think this is combined OIS with EIS. The reason the "non-stabilized" footage likely looks so awful is because they may be simulating the shakiness in post because the device may not expose the non-stabilized footage to the end-user.

If that isn't the case then perhaps the "raw" footage is devoid of all EIS and this is strictly EIS with little to no OIS?

Pretty damn impressive.

If only 13 year old Steven Spielberg had this when he shot his first action war movie using neighborhood classmates for actors.

There will be many young people with imaginations making amateur films using this.

Good video. iPhone cameras are very good.

brandoman said:

Why no cases on their phones?

I never use a case. I don't ever drop it, and a case makes it bulky, awkward, ugly, and still not 100% drop proof.

Same for a screen protector. I only put non scratchy items in the pocket with my phone.

I see quite a surprising number of people who do the same.

PowerButton said:

That tire rolling shot makes me sick just thinking about it.
Btw, who has a big tractor tire just laying around, the means to transport it to location (vehicle and crew), and someone small enough to get inside just for that shot?

You're correct. Something like this is absolutely impossible.

Nobody has a cheap pickup truck or knows someone who does and there are no junkyards that would give you a tire like that for a few bucks.

Also, small humans don't exist. We all exit the womb at our full adult height.

But doesn't that all involve some pretty dramatic cropping which would work for some scenes but not others?

citysnaps said:

Pretty damn impressive.

If only 13 year old Steven Spielberg had this when he shot his first action war movie using neighborhood classmates for actors.

There will be many young people with imaginations making amateur films using this.

It was probably lucky for Spielberg that everyone didn’t have this. Not a knock on Spielberg but we’re drowning in a sea of content these days.

Nobody's asking Apple why the 13 Pro couldn't do it while the 14 with the same chip can? Where were those people who asked about stage manager?

jennyp said:

But doesn't that all involve some pretty dramatic cropping which would work for some scenes but not others?

Yup. It uses the ultrawide lens and crop it. Even cheap mid range Samsung phones have been doing this for years.

brandoman said:

Why no cases on their phones?

I generally have no case. They should be built to take it. Also AppleCare. I don’t case watch either.

sideshowuniqueuser said:

I never use a case. I don't ever drop it, and a case makes it bulky, awkward, ugly, and still not 100% drop proof.

Same for a screen protector. I only put non scratchy items in the pocket with my phone.

I see quite a surprising number of people who do the same.

Yeah, I've never seen a person without a case for their iPhone.