I must first start this post by sending a big thank you to Paul Maclean for all his help and information about the new Spatial Video (and photo capture) on the iPhone 15 Pros. I saw an announcement back in September 2023 that the iPhone 15 Pro was going to be Apple’s first iPhone with spatial (or stereoscopic 3-D) video technology, but the details were vague to say the least. Now it’s finally been released with iOS 17.2, and Paul, who is quoted in this post, has kindly kept me updated with all the fast-paced developments and footage to share:

“With the recent release of iOS 17.2, new iPhones are now effectively 3D cameras, with Apple’s ‘Spatial Video’ format. The stereoscopic effect is surprisingly good when converted to SBS. This potentially makes 3D video much more accessible. The physical distances mean it’s probably better suited to recording more intimate experiences but the perception of depth is quite effective.

‘Spatial Video’ uses the MV-HEVC format and currently records at 1080p30 which can be viewed either stereoscopically or monoscopically (like any common video). Apple’s format is specifically designed for their new ‘Vision Pro’ headset (due March 2024) but people have already been hacking that for more straightforward “3D” viewing elsewhere (e.g. Meta Quest).”

Apple’s announcement for Spatial Video in December 2023 can be found here.

Filmed and Copyright: Paul Maclean. The Leeds Library – The New Room. Link to The Leeds Library Please note the resolution of the video has been reduced for this upload, but click enlarge, and turn your phone on its side if you’re using one, to view in the best available quality.

Apple’s guide for enabling Spatial Video capture on iPhone 15 Pros can be found here. On the phone, go to Settings> Camera> Formats and turn on ‘Spatial Video for Apple Vision Pro’. In video mode, remember to record in landscape orientation for iPhone 15 Pros, then press the ‘goggles’ icon to start recording a spatial video, and again to finish.

“Currently (14th December 2023 – it only officially came out on Tuesday 12th with iOS 17.2) on the phone you can just cut the clip length, with no further editing. To convert the MV-HEVC files to simple SBS or O/U format people are using Spatialify in the Apple app. store – so it can be converted on the phone itself – or downloading the Spatial Video file to their desktops and using the free online conversion facility at Halocline.

When in simple SBS (or Over/Under) people can then use their favoured video editors to handle the files as they normally would for stereoscopic videos. Apple will be releasing an update to their video editing software, Final Cut Pro X, in Spring 2024 to enable full editing within that program. The Leeds Library footage I actually modified to alter the convergence point so all was behind the stereo window. As it comes out of the camera the 3D really does “pop” – and I think I actually prefer it that way.

The results are so good that I’ve now set ‘Spatial Video” to be my default video format on the phone. It knocks recording in flat “4K LOG” for six. This feels like the real kickoff point for making 3D actually popular.

iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. Image from Amateur Photographer – please click on this to be taken to the article for specs. and comparison.

Some more info: Apple’s ‘Spatial Video’ is currently only on the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max – because of the lens locations. Apple actually swapped the lens order around from their previous positions to make this work (so iPhones <14 can’t do it). Rumour has it that next year’s iPhone (#16, 2024) will have re-arranged lens positions in the vertical orientation so that all new iPhones can record this way. Spatial Video must be taken in landscape and when recording there is a visible icon on the phone so you know you’re doing so. The videos go into a special ‘Spatial’ album on your phone. When recording there’s also a small level indicator that appears if you go slightly off horizontal. Video Resolution is 1920×1080 (x2), so 3840×1920 SBS at 30 fps. The left lens can look soft because of the way Apple has cropped-in the image from that lens to make it match the other. When watching in stereo it is still great.

It appears what Apple has done with the MV-HEVC format is to record one lens “as is” and then use metadata to record only the differences with between the two images thus saving a lot of space. Average storage consumption as a result is about 130 MB per minute.”

Update 19th December 2023: “The latest release of the Spatialify app. on iOS now allows taking of stereoscopic still images, not just video, and also exports in the anaglyph format.” Paul also sent me a photo taken with the app, and it is fantastic quality. He explained that there had been no stereo adjustment to the image in SPM, just a simple crop.

Photo captured and copyright: Paul Maclean. A quick photo taken with Spatialify, with the resolution halved for sharing online (please click on the image to expand it in Flickr if using a desktop).

“If you have an Apple Watch, you can monitor/self frame Spatial Video in the live video preview on the watch face. Handy for “vlogging”. ;-)”

Thank you so much for all your help and information Paul. With a new phone contract looming, I’m really considering moving over from Android to iPhone now!

What a stonking Christmas present from Apple to the stereo geeks with iPhone 15 Pros, and hopefully with lots more in the pipeline, this will open up stereoscopy to a whole new audience.

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