November 21, 2017

Top 4  Video Editing Apps for iPhones in 2019

 A Hitcase Update:

 It's been two years since we first brought you this article about the best video editing apps on the iPhone. And while the general principles of video editing haven't changed much in the intervening years, two years is a lifetime in the world of apps and iPhones. In particular, some of our original suggestions no longer exist or have been succeeded by more advanced apps that allow you to do more serious video editing on your iPhone. Furthermore, because the iPhone 11's processor is so powerful -- Apple claims the A13 is "the fastest chip ever in a smartphone" -- the gap between a serious video editing rig and video editing apps on iPhone is quickly vanishing. And, judging by newer app offerings, app makers know it.

 

So, without further ado, here's what's changed:

 

The first item in our list, Adobe Premiere Clip, was shuttered on September 17, 2019. The good news is that the creative behemoth Adobe isn't abandoning iOS, they're actually migrating all of their cross-platform video editing tools into one, fully-featured app that works across iOS, macOS, Windows, and Android devices called Adobe Premiere Rush. This is great for professionals on the go since projects can be more easily shared amongst platforms, and who can argue with comprehensive video editing on an iPhone?

 

- Brought to you by Hitcase, makers of robust iPhone accessories including our creative iPhone fisheye lens and our new phone camera lens kit that works with all mobile devices, even Android phones.

[Interested in photography? Here's some more content from our blog: Best Apps for iPhone Photography and Dog Photo Editor.] 

Whether you spend your time on Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok or YouTube, editing apps for iPhone are full-featured and powerful, allowing you to do just about anything you can do on a dedicated, video-editing desktop computer. The best part is that some editors allow you to take your projects from mobile to desktop and back, truly blurring the line between toys and professional tools. That's great for consumers, and great for anyone that edits videos on the go, professional or not.

Here are the Top 4 Video Editing Apps for iPhone users

1) LumaFX

LumaFX allows you to layer as many video effects as you like as well as the added bonus of color correction at the swipe of your finger through the use of presets. With this app, you can simply add texts, color effects, styles, blurs, and other distortion effects.

 

If color correction isn't your vice, you'll still love the various motion effects that the app comes with, while still being able to adjust audio pitch (in a fast-forward video), through a supported spectrum of 120 frames-per-second (fps) to 240fps, in order to create slo-mo videos and luxurious scene-stealing time-lapses.


Again, since this is a more pedestrian version of the more professional video editing apps, you'll get to change video aspect ratios of videos, animate different positions and rotations, and extract photographs of any frame (for the epic YouTube thumbnail, if that's what you wish).

LumaFX is a powerful and fun way to edit clips on the go. That said, LumaFX has a professional big brother in LumaFusion, which is a more powerful and enhanced version of the older iPhone video editing app, and a purchase of LumaFusion now includes the more limited LumaFX. The main distinction between the two is that LumaFX only allows you to edit one "track" or timeline, while LumaFusion gives you six video and six audio tracks, along with enhanced effects and other bits and bobs, for a more powerful suite of tools. If you liked but felt limited with LumaFX, LumaFusion is your best bet in 2019.


Download LumaFX from the App Store ($2.99)

 

 

 

3) iMovie

When a lot of people think of movie editing, especially on their phones and especially professional movie editing, they tend to scoff at the mere mention of iMovie.

Yes, typically on a Mac, iMovie doesn't rank as the best, most powerful and customizable piece of editing software, however, on an iPhone or iPad, it's perfect!

It comes standard with any new iPhone and allows you to select videos directly from your camera roll and get to editing.

For the social media influencer, iMovie allows you to add voiceovers directly on the videos that you are editing and then when you're ready to take the footage to the next level, simply export the file to your Mac and perfect it.

Just like a typical iMovie application on a Mac, you can import videos, edit them, add filters, slice them up into clips, re-arrange clips, and add text overlays with a simple swipe.

Download iMovie from the App Store (Free)

4) Videoshop

If you've got an older iPhone model and are looking for the functionality of iMovie, without the price, Videoshop is a great alternative. This powerful app won't feel like much of a compromise once you become familiar with its intuitive interface.

Just like iMovie, Videoshop allows you to record video clips from within the app, or simply import them from your camera roll. Once your preferred files are imported into the app, you can cut them up into multiple clips, merge various clips into one video, add narration and text, and many other capabilities!

As soon as you're happy with your compilation, the app allows you to add filters and themes to the completed video, as well as give the video a title before exporting it. Again, just as you would with iMovie, Videoshop allows you to export your video to Dropbox, Photos or directly share it onto platforms like Vimeo, Instagram, YouTube and many other social networks.

Download Videoshop from App Store ($1.99, has in-app purchases)

5) Splice

When it was first released, this app was called, "one of the best video editors for iPhones" by Lifehacker. We know what you're thinking, and we agree that this was a massive claim at the time, but it makes sense when you consider who the app was developed by.

 

None other than the makers of the famed adventure camera, "GoPro." Nowadays, the app continues to make editing easier for people who are new to mobile editing. It has a clip editor which trims videos with the utmost precision while allowing the user to add text overlays and music from their phone — or any other sound effects to be honest. These clips are referred to by the app as "Hilights."

You can add transitions between highlights and additional effects like crop etc. Once the Hilight is complete, you can share your video on various social media platforms as well as YouTube and Instagram.

The best part? It's free!

 

While Splice, was actually sold by GoPro in 2018 but remains one of the best video editing apps for iPhone. In June, the app's new owners, Bending Spoons, released a complete makeover of the app, increasing functionality and UI to better enable creatives to take advantage of the platform's features. Unfortunately, a new layout and way of doing things aren't what a video editor with unfinished projects wants to hear, and many users jumped ship or tried to stay on the old version for as long as they could. If you're new to Splice, the new version may be perfect for you; being a free app, it's also a nice alternative to iMovie.

Download Splice from the App Store (Free)

 

At the end of the day...

A lot of the creative functions that used to be exclusively reserved for desktops and laptops are being taken over by iPads and iPhones, and users never have to worry about where the videos are stored (or remember the folder names).

Video editing on your iPhone these days is intuitive, quick, and easy.

 

Brought to you by Hitcase, makers of robust iPhone accessories including our creative iPhone fisheye lens and our new phone camera lens kit that works with all mobile devices, even Android phones.

 

[Interested in photography? Here's some more content from our blog: Best Apps for iPhone Photography and Dog Photo Editor.]

Video editing on your iPhone these days is intuitive, quick and easy.

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