| Quality Tier | Plan | How Dimensions Scale | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low (480p) | Free | Caps short side to ~480 px (even dimensions, original aspect) | Quick bug clips over slow mobile connections |
| Medium (720p) | Free | Caps short side to ~720 px, never upscales smaller inputs | Slack, Discord, Jira, GitHub PR attachments, email |
| High (1080p) | Free | Caps short side to ~1080 px with crisp UI text | YouTube, Instagram Reels, TikTok, online courses |
| Source (Native) | Reel Pro | Full source pixel dimensions (not lossless raw; compressed MP4) | App Store Preview source masters & timeline punch-in zooms |
Short-Side Capping Preserves Your Device's Exact Aspect Ratio
Modern iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks rarely use a textbook 16:9 screen—an iPhone Pro is roughly 19.5:9, an iPad is near 4:3, and a MacBook with a menu bar notch is ~16:10. Rather than stretching or cropping your screen into a fixed 9:16 box, Reel caps the shorter edge according to your chosen tier while preserving the exact source aspect ratio and rounding to encoder-safe even pixel counts.
If a display source is already smaller than the cap, Reel never artificially upscales it.
HEVC on iOS vs H.264 on Mac Inside MP4
Container format and video codec are two separate things. Reel always outputs an `.mp4` file rather than an Apple-only `.mov` wrapper, eliminating manual file conversion for web uploads.
Under the hood, iOS BroadcastWriter encodes with hardware HEVC (H.265) so high-resolution mobile captures stay remarkably small on iPhone storage, while Mac capture writes widely compatible H.264 inside `.mp4`. Before sending raw iOS HEVC files to an older Windows editor, verify your target timeline has HEVC support installed.
Keeping Long Recordings Storage-Safe
Before starting a twenty-minute class or gameplay session, confirm you have several gigabytes of free device storage. Saving to the Photos library requires room for both the active capture buffer and the finalized export; if Photos library export is ever interrupted by low space or permissions, Reel retains fallback access rather than discarding your take.
Pre-Recording Checklist
Tick items before you start your broadcast—saved locally in your browser.
Common Questions
Is 1080p free in Reel Screen Recorder?
Yes. 480p, 720p, and 1080p recording qualities are completely free. Reel Pro ($0.99/month, $9.99/year, or $14.99 lifetime in the US App Store) removes ads and unlocks Source (Native) resolution.
Does Source (Native) mean uncompressed lossless files?
No—Source (Native) preserves full source pixel dimensions without downscaling, encoded efficiently into MP4 so files remain practical to store and edit.
Next Workflows to Read
How to Film Clean Video Reactions and Live Commentary in One Take on iPhone
Film design critiques, gameplay breakdowns, and video reactions on one iPhone or iPad with synchronized screen playback, clear voice audio, and no mic echo.
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Recording Crisp App Demos and Client Walkthroughs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
A repeatable production checklist for indie developers, educators, and product teams recording app demos, onboarding clips, and App Store Preview source footage.
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