Blog

Beginning with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, Apple will allow users to edit Cinematic mode videos with third-party apps. Apple’s Cinematic mode, which was first introduced with the iPhone 13 series in 2021, is simply the video version of Portrait mode for stills. It creates a shallow depth of field effect—also known as bokeh—by isolating subjects from the background. 

Currently, the only way to edit Cinematic mode videos is to do so in the Apple Photos app or with Apple’s own editing software—iMovie or Final Cut Pro X.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple has introduced a new ‘Cinematic API’ with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma. Using the API, developers of third-party video editing suites will be able to add support to edit Apple’s Cinematic mode video—for both playback and editing. 

When you shoot a Cinematic mode video on an iPhone 13 or 14, it is saved as two files—one with depth information and other metadata, and one standalone video file that can be shared with most apps. Third-party apps could only read the standalone video file until now, but they will be able to access the depth information with the new API. 

This means that developers will be able to add support for Cinematic mode videos in their apps—allowing users to change the depth (level of background blur) and focus. As mentioned earlier, currently, this is only possible with Apple’s Photo app, iMovie and Final Cut Pro X.

The iPhone 13 series, including the standard and Pro models, as well as the entire iPhone 14 series, support Cinematic mode video. However, the iPhone 13 series is limited to 1080p video, while the iPhone 14 series can shoot in 4K at 30 frames per second.

In theory, this opens up options for developers like Adobe and Black Magic to bring native support for professional-grade video editing software, including Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve. Moreover, this will also help Cinematic mode become more mainstream considering video editors and content creators widely use Adobe’s editing suite.