iMovie for iOS update delivers iPhone X, Metal graphics support

Apple on Thursday issued an update for the iOS version of iMovie, bringing with it support for the Super Retina display on iPhone X, compatibility with Metal graphics processing, bug fixes and more.

The latest iteration of https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/imovie/id377298193?mt=8">iMovie for iOS, version 2.2.5, is one of the last first-party Apple apps to receive the iPhone X treatment.

With today's update, users can take full advantage of the flagship's 5.8-inch OLED display to view, edit and share videos. Prior to the change, iPhone X owners were forced to deal with black bars on either side of iMovie's app window as it did not support the phone's unusual aspect ratio.

Though iPhone X's screen is expansive, the cropped iMovie pane made for a cramped workspace, especially troublesome for video editing software with a user interface heavily reliant on touch input. Attempting to trim clips, applying filters and effects, and performing multitouch gestures were all made more difficult due to the constrained screen real estate.

Thanks to today's update, however, users can shoot, edit and share up to 4K video directly on iPhone X, taking full advantage of the edge-to-edge display throughout the entire process.

In addition to iPhone X screen support, iMovie now integrates Apple's Metal API for fast, efficient graphics processing. Also included are localization improvements for Simplified Chinese language assets and general stability enhancements.

Apple's iMovie update comes on the heels of the latest Final Cut Pro release, which earlier this week introduced a few new features including ProRes RAW support and closed captioning options.

iMovie version 2.2.5 is a free 707.1MB download from the iOS App Store.

7 Comments

CheeseFreeze 1332 comments · 7 Years

About 6 years ago

iMovie updated half year later after the iPhone X was announced? That’s a little embarrassing. And Metal, how long has that been? Not having it backed by Metal for so long is just silly.

iMovie feels outdated by now, across the board. They should kill it off and let third party devs handle it.

mygig 40 comments · 10 Years

CheeseFreeze said:

iMovie updated half year later after the iPhone X was announced? That’s a little embarrassing. And Metal, how long has that been? Not having it backed by Metal for so long is just silly.

iMovie feels outdated by now, across the board. They should kill it off and let third party devs handle it.

No, they shouldn't. It's a great app for quick edits.

imat 215 comments · 17 Years

And still no way to use the same theme for a trailer and "actual movie".

bestkeptsecret 4282 comments · 13 Years

CheeseFreeze said:

iMovie feels outdated by now, across the board. They should kill it off and let third party devs handle it.

No, I think iMovie is an amazing app for easy edits. Besides the standard easy edits, it has the not-so-obvious options for picture-in-picture, split screen and rudimentary cropping.
It is one of the most enjoyable apps to use.

macxpress 5902 comments · 16 Years

CheeseFreeze said:

iMovie updated half year later after the iPhone X was announced? That’s a little embarrassing. And Metal, how long has that been? Not having it backed by Metal for so long is just silly.

iMovie feels outdated by now, across the board. They should kill it off and let third party devs handle it.

Actually, I think Apple should just shut down and give the money to its shareholders... /s