How do we watch 4K video if the iPhone screens only display 720p on the 6 and 1080p on the 6s?

[cardfan]

Question. How do I get the 4K video onto my tv to take advantage of the new 4K video recording? I can't airplay it because my apple tv does not have support for 4K. Upload to my computer and then put onto a flash drive is the only thing that comes to mind...

And there's your main problem. True, the video will play on a 4k or better PC or retina iMac. But that's a vast minority of people that own things like that. For the typical iphone user, they're more likely to have a 4k tv vs a 4k or better desktop.

But the lightning hdmi cable to tv is limited to 1080p. Airplay is limited. Apple tv? Nope. The new ipad pro? Nope. Only plays 1080p. Most will need a capable computer. Most mainstream users will be clueless how to get any iphone 4k video on their 4k tv or more likely be amazed at the still 1080p content streaming that they think is 4k.

 

[masotime]

Interesting... the new Apple TV doesn't support 4K.

http://www.apple.com/tv/specs/

That's quite confusing. I would have expected it to, to match up with the new iPhone.

 

[lordofthereef]

Question. How do I get the 4K video onto my tv to take advantage of the new 4K video recording? I can't airplay it because my apple tv does not have support for 4K. Upload to my computer and then put onto a flash drive is the only thing that comes to mind...

That would be about the only way unless you have a media center pc capable of a 4k output.

I was kind of shocked by the 4k announcement. I honestly don't see it as much of a benefit. I can only imagine it was a relatively inexpensive addition. Apple doesn't tend to add "next gen" technology into today's devices too often. I would say 4k is easily a few years away from being completely ubiquitous.

 

[Ninerboy81]

Yea this is a big confusing now. Seems like I now have to own a 4k desktop when I have a perfectly good and quite amazing LG 4k tv.

 

[kucyk]

4K will be a way better on any screen in terms of details and sharpness. Just compare any 4K video on YouTube with 1080p version. If you come back and tell me there is no difference, visit the optician then.

 

[Ninerboy81]

Can a USB flash drive output at 4k?

 

[geoff5093]

By this logic, any photo above the resolution of your display is also pointless. 4k will look sharper on a 1080p display than 1080p video will, as when you downsample the images/video you get higher perceived quality. It also allows you to use software stabilization or cropping without pixelation.

 

[scrtagntman]

Not pointless for some. I have a 4K Sony TV!

Don't you think it's kind of nuts that there is no Apple method of watching them on it? Curious as to what your plans are to view them on it. A serious question, because my next TV will be 4K and clearly it won't be TV that does this for us (what a missed opportunity).

I don't fault Apple for supporting 4k on their phones. I embrace it. I just wish they would have seen it through, because as the OP was eluding too... there is no Apple means of consumption short of the new iMacs. And most of us do not do desktops anymore and want to view videos on our TV's.

 

[cardfan]

At the very least, apple tv should allow computer (or idevice) streaming in 4k or some kind of adaptor should be available for 4k tv users. And if the idea that 4k would be a niche feature for apple tv, then why include it at all in iphones?

 

[nouveau-apple]

4K will be a way better on any screen in terms of details and sharpness. Just compare any 4K video on YouTube with 1080p version. If you come back and tell me there is no difference, visit the optician then.

I've never even been able to WATCH a 4K video because the option never is available on non 4K devices. You have to actually try to download those actual videos.

I don't have the time and it's not worth it. I'd most likely disable 4K.

 

[Ninerboy81]

Unless Apple has some sort of new accessory or something up their sleeve and they are releasing it soon there is no way to view this 4k content that your new iPhone can record on anything other than their own iMacs.

 

[redheeler]

4K will be a way better on any screen in terms of details and sharpness. Just compare any 4K video on YouTube with 1080p version. If you come back and tell me there is no difference, visit the optician then.

On YouTube in particular, the 4K has version a noticeably higher bitrate compared to 1080p. Compression is a real quality killer there.

I've never even been able to WATCH a 4K video because the option never is available on non 4K devices. You have to actually try to download those actual videos.

I don't have the time and it's not worth it. I'd most likely disable 4K.

I've seen the option appear on non-4K devices.

 

[lordofthereef]

4K will be a way better on any screen in terms of details and sharpness. Just compare any 4K video on YouTube with 1080p version. If you come back and tell me there is no difference, visit the optician then.

This has to do with compression algorithms. I don't think you're wrong, as a rule, but this won't necessarily be the case always. We will have to see how Apple's compression algorithms compare to one another.

 

[PTLove]

4K video should still look better even on the native Iphone screen. Downsampling algorithms should still be in play, and downsampling (unlike upsampling) has the ability to increase image quality.

 

[Steve686]

YouTube videos are viewable in 4K.

My GoPros record 4K.

My DJI Phantom records in 4K.

My TVs can view 4K.

And also, when you record in 4K, you can crop and edit backwards to 1080p and so on to get a different shot framing.

Just a few reasons why I am happy to see a 4K iPhone.

 

[sterl320]

Um. We won't even be able to watch the 4K video. We'd never see any difference.

That's the case of every smartphone today that shoots 4K videos.

 

[recoil80]

You can easily watch them with the new Apple TV.
Oh wait, no 4k support this time

 

[Gathomblipoob]

I'm too good at spotting trolls for this. You have to up your game.

I think I remember this poster from last year. You're right.

 

[Supermallet]

You can view 4K natively, but only on unlocked, SIM-free iPhones, and who knows when those will be available?

(Disclaimer: This is sarcasm, please do not take me seriously)

 

[pika2000]

Um. We won't even be able to watch the 4K video. We'd never see any difference.

Who cares? A DSLR can capture 1080p. Is its LCD 1080p? Nope. There are 4K professional cameras. Are the viewfinders on them 4K? Nope. Yet they don't diminish the quality of the video nor the creativity of the filmmakers. There's NO point for a small screen iPhone to have 4K resolution. It's a waste of battery and performance.

 

[Q-Dog]

4K on a tiny sensor and lens the size of a pencil eraser? It's just a gimmick ... a "me too" marketing move. Let us know how good it looks once you get your new phone. Apple would have to somehow defy the laws of physics to make that look better than 1080 on a cheap DSLR with better glass and bigger sensor. For casual stuff like home movies the phone video will look OK, but Anyone who seriously wants to shoot and edit 4K video won't be doing it with their phone.

And honestly, most people won't see the difference, especially when they can't be bothered to rotate their phone to landscape mode when they shoot video.

 

[nouveau-apple]

Who cares? A DSLR can capture 1080p. Is its LCD 1080p? Nope. There are 4K professional cameras. Are the viewfinders on them 4K? Nope. Yet they don't diminish the quality of the video nor the creativity of the filmmakers. There's NO point for a small screen iPhone to have 4K resolution. It's a waste of battery and performance.

Other phones do. And for the iPhone to be Apple's most popular product, it would make sense. That's how people watch YouTube, watch videos, watch iTunes...

 

[nouveau-apple]

4K will be a way better on any screen in terms of details and sharpness. Just compare any 4K video on YouTube with 1080p version. If you come back and tell me there is no difference, visit the optician then.

I heard that 4K actually looks blurry on devices that don't support it.

It was Engadget that had put up an article talking about "YouTube is testing 4K videos, try it out."

The thing is, I don't ever know if I'm viewing 4K or not. I thought I wouldn't have been able to watch a YouTube 4K video on any apple device unless I had downloaded chrome.

 

[noobinator]

Same way you watch any other video.

 

[redman042]

4K on a tiny sensor and lens the size of a pencil eraser? It's just a gimmick ... a "me too" marketing move. Let us know how good it looks once you get your new phone. Apple would have to somehow defy the laws of physics to make that look better than 1080 on a cheap DSLR with better glass and bigger sensor. For casual stuff like home movies the phone video will look OK, but Anyone who seriously wants to shoot and edit 4K video won't be doing it with their phone.

And honestly, most people won't see the difference, especially when they can't be bothered to rotate their phone to landscape mode when they shoot video.

I would normally agree with you, but I've watched the Apple demo videos shot in 4k with the iPhone 6s on my Surface Pro 3 (2k display), and they are noticeably sharper than normal HD video. They look really good. It may not be DSLR quality, but it's up there.