How to Cut and Trim a Video on My iPhone/iPad

Tips • Nov. 22, 2023

Catching a perfect moment on the video is a hard thing to do. If you have plenty of storage space on your iPhone/iPad, the easiest way is to record a longer video and edit it before publishing.

But what’s the best way to cut and trim a video on your iPhone/iPad? Is there an integrated way or should you look for third-party options? These are just some of the questions we’ll answer below as we show you the easiest steps for all video uses, so let’s break it down!

What’s the easiest way to cut a video on an iPhone/iPad?

One of the easiest ways to trim a video on an iPhone/iPad is to use the integrated crop tool within the photos.

In the Photos, find a video, click on the edit button at the top right corner, and you’ll see the video editor integrated into the iOS devices. In the editor, you’ll see your video in a smaller window, with the timeline underneath it and a taskbar with available tools at the bottom.

With the taskbar option set at the video icon, you will see a timeline, which you can use to watch the video, fast forward, roll backward, but also trim and cut parts of the video you don’t want to see. This is the easiest way to cut the ending of the video or delay the start of the video.

Since the iOS video editor is visual and user-friendly, it’s simple to use it and figure out the steps to cut and trim a video. The only downside is that it’s a pretty basic video editor so besides trimming, filters, and image exposure, you can’t do much more than that. Another useful feature is the crop feature, which helps you visually cut parts of the video by lowering the video’s visible frame.

Quick steps include:

Open Photos and find a video
Click on the Video option in the taskbar at the bottom
Use the timeline to adjust the beginning and the ending of the video before saving

How to trim and prepare a video for Instagram?

If you’re a big fan of the Instagram platform, the good news is that you can also cut and trim your videos within the Instagram app. This is a feature that wasn’t available before, and while it’s a pretty basic video editor, it’s still useful for cutting and trimming.

Open your Instagram app on your iPhone or iPad and click on the plus button to add a new post. Then, you need to find a video in your library, and after selecting one, click on the Next button in the top right corner.

In the next step, you’ll see a video in the Instagram app, and below the video in the left bottom corner, there’s an “Edit video” button. By clicking on the edit video button, a new video editor will pop up.

With a video in a small pop-up window, features, and functions are below the video. In the timeline, you can preview the video, adjust the time rates, and shorten the beginning or the ending of the video. Besides cutting and trimming, you can also add third-party clips, music, and text, stickers, or edit the video further with additional features. These additional features include speed settings, split screen, replacement, cropping of the video frame, and more.

Quick steps:

Open an Instagram app
Click on the Plus button to add a video
Select a video and click on the Edit Video button
Edit the video before publishing

How to trim and prepare a video for TikTok?

TikTok is one of the most popular video platforms and it includes a video editor of its own that you can use within the TikTok app on iOS devices.

When you open the TikTok app on your iPhone or iPad device, click on the Plus button to make a new post, click on the Upload icon to browse your gallery, and select a video. When you select a video, it’ll be visible on the next screen, with actions in the right sidebar.

Click on the edit icon, which is located at the top of the menu and this will take you to TikTok’s video editor. In this editor, you will see your video in a smaller resolution at the top of the screen, with the timeline and other available editing tools at the bottom of the screen.

By clicking on the timeline underneath the video, you can cut and trim the video but also use it to add another video to combine two videos. You can also add sound, check the video in full screen, or use some of the available editing tools.

The editing tools include the ability to add text, effects, overlay, split, speed, audio sync, and more.

Quick steps:

Open the TikTok app
Click on the Plus button to add a video
Find and choose your video
Click on the edit button to open TikTok’s video editor
Use the editor to edit the video before saving or publishing

How to trim the middle of the video on iPhone/iPad?

Using the integrated video editor through the Photos app won’t allow you to trim the middle of the video, only the beginning and the ending of the video. However, Apple has another app called iMovie.

The iMovie app often comes integrated with iPhone and iPad devices, but if not, you can download it for free using the AppStore.

To trim the middle of the video, open the iMovie app, and choose a video as a”movie”. When you see a video and an editor taskbar below, choose the first point of the video where you’d like to split the video. When you select the timeframe, tap the video to highlight it, and press the “Split” button.

This will split the video and you only have to repeat the same process for the second point of the video you’d like to trim. This way, you end up cutting out the extra time frames from the beginning and the ending of the movie.

Quick steps:

Open iMovie (or download it from the AppStore)
Select a video as a “movie” project
Use the timeline to select the first section of the video you’d like to trim
Use the timeline to select the second section of the video you’d like to trim
Save the trimmed video

What’s the easiest way to trim video on iPhone online?

If you don’t have enough space on your iPhone or iPad or you just don’t like any of the apps that allow video trimming and editing, the last resort is to edit your videos online.

To do this, you can still use your iPhone and you only need to find an online platform where you can edit your videos. One of the best such platforms is the Veed.io. Veed.io is a free video editing platform where you only need to upload your video.

After uploading your video, you will see the video editor, which allows you to select the timeframes you’d like to trim. After you make the cuts, you can download the video to your iPhone.

It’s a simple 3-step process that doesn’t take a lot of time, but keep in mind that you will need an internet connection to do this. Since you’re not editing the videos on your iPhone offline, you need to be online and have space to download the edited version of the video after you make the cuts.

Quick steps:

Upload your video to Veed.io online.
Selectthe video editor to trim the video.
3. After making the cuts, download the edited video to your iPhone.

More about Veed.io

Veed.io is a cloud-based video editing platform that allows a full video editing experience without making it difficult for beginners. You can take advantage of the stock libraries, music, and soundwaves, text formatting features, and even auto-generated subtitles.

It’s ideal for the creation of professional videos, educational content, marketing videos for social media, and even funny personal videos. Some templates make the whole video editing experience much easier, and yet so much more advanced than other apps you could download to your iOS device.

Is there any advanced video trimmer for iPhone or iPad?

If you’re looking for an advanced video editor for your iPhone or iPad, Movavi Clips is a great app you can download from the Movai offiical website. This app includes basic video editing options such as trimming, adjusting video speed, changing the aspect ratio, and rotating movies, but it also includes advanced features.

You can add effects, transitions, GIFs, music tracks, sounds, voice-overs, adjust volume, add text, logos, or stickers, and even turn a video into slideshows. What’s also interesting about Movavi is that it includes a noise reducer so your videos can also sound much better, especially the ones you recorded in public or noisy spaces.

How to Trim a YouTube Video on an iPhone/iPad?

To edit YouTube videos, you’ll need to rely on the iPhone/iPad since the YouTube app doesn’t integrate a video editor. Therefore, you can use either the basic video editor from the Photos app, or you can use the iMovie app.

When you edit the video, you can save it and then upload it on YouTube. The editing process for YouTube videos is the same as other types we’ve mentioned above, so you can follow those steps.

If you’re looking to download YouTube videos, explore these top YouTube downloaders for Mac. Not only can you download videos, but some tools also allow you to trim and edit them for seamless transfer to your iPhone or iPad.

Can You Trim a Video in VLC?

VLC isn’t going to provide editing options you might need, but it’s a very efficient media player. Therefore, if you need an app to play videos from your iPhone’s files and a player where you can add subtitles and adjust all sorts of playback settings, VLC is a good choice.

However, if you own a MacBook laptop or a Mac desktop, you can download VLC for the macOS operating system and take full advantage of VLC’s editing options. While the VLC mobile version doesn’t feature editing options, the desktop version does. While VLC’s editor isn’t advanced, it’s good enough for basic video editing and trimming. But if you don’t have access to a desktop computer, you’ll have to settle with any of the other available methods.

Conclusion

If you never edited a video, that isn’t something you should stray away from because it’s a fairly simple thing to do on iPhones and iPads. With the help of integrated apps, you can quickly do basic edits. But if you need advanced features, using third-party tools or platforms is the best way to go.

One thing is for sure. You won’t have a hard time trimming and cutting your videos quickly since you’ll learn the whole process in the steps above.