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Video Playback on iOS 18 is Broken - Video size is small and timeline ends early when setting video to full frame or zooming in. Serious bug.

Video Playback on iOS 18 is asinine. I use video playback to show slow-motion video frame by frame to my students and the video can only be shown at like 3/5 of the screen size (just like Apple fouled up screenshot editing about a year ago)


If you try to view video in the full screen you can’t scrub through and see time stamps or play frame by frame sliding left to right. It’s absolutely ridiculous. 2 out of 3x the video timeline finishes fully right and I haven’t watched the full clip.


Here’s a video showing the issue how at the small default size I can see the entire timeline and play the full video from beginning to end, but when I go to full screen and/or zoom in or move the screen around the timeline doesn’t work and you can’t scroll through the full video!


Need the video to not condense in size on the screen and play the full height / width of the screen. Also not have the text of the location showing above the screen. Way too much clutter. The reduced size of the video for editing issue started with photos several updates ago and now Apple idiotically brought a terrible flaw from photos to videos as well. Ugh.


iPhone 14 Pro, iOS 18

Posted on Sep 18, 2024 9:17 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 22, 2024 3:52 PM

Here’s a YT video I made demonstrating the exact issue. Only posted a day ago and it has over 1,000 views and tons of comments. I’m happy other people are speaking out about how bad this iOS 18 update ruined Apple Photos and video playback and video usability. Apple please for the love of God fix this urgently. Whoever spearheaded the rollout should seriously be fired. Whoever approved it should also be fired!


Video of Issue


Please fix Apple Photos and iPhone videos urgently! They also should fix the editing / annotation of images. Taking a screenshot makes it tiny on the screen so if you you try to draw or type on it it’s the same nonsense of a tiny screen area. Editing any photo to draw or type on it shrinks the image on the screen. It should not be this way. Keep both images / photos and videos full screen. This is not an issue in any other app. It’s so bad it makes me wonder what the heck Apple is doing and how these people who are supposedly very bright tech wizards are employed there.

95 replies

Oct 8, 2024 6:59 PM in response to Yer_Man

Your point is a good one, but remember how much we pay for these devices.


It’s also pretty standard for software companies at this level to have multiple layers of quality and product feedback.


Apple obviously rushed this release, didn’t coordinate effectively and still wants to be on top.


maybe the hyperbolic commentary is over done, but listen to what people are trying to communicate. They feel snubbed, especially because it’s now impossible to install a lower version of iOS.

Oct 24, 2024 4:55 AM in response to brentgrab

Your topic was my exact first thoughts when I discovered this about video scrubbing / default crop size of photos and videos now. I also scoured the internet looking for answers and other people with similar issues. Spot on, mate. I’ve submitted my feedback to Apple. I hope that enough people do it so that they listen to us and change it. It’s almost impossible to use videos now for any type of educational/ instructional content. They’ve taken away all ability for it to function correctly .

Oct 24, 2024 3:03 PM in response to brentgrab

The video playback UI is hands down the worst feature I’ve ever used on any device. Period. Full stop.


Its virtually useless as the timeline doesn’t use any different color to see your place, if you scroll along the the timeline, it somehow shrinks the video time into a fraction of the full video forcing you return to the start. Then anytime I touch it, the screen automatically shrinks back to 70% screen size. OMG, it literally drives me bananas.


Apple - just put it back to normal and leave it.

Nov 18, 2024 8:17 AM in response to Alpick1

Yup! Everything about this update regarding video playback and the Photos app is atrocious. I have 18.1 right now and at first I thought the issue where when you zoom in and try to play the video only some of it shows was fixed… But it actually isn’t fixed. It works intermittently. Meaning if you click play and watch it in the stupid small size it’ll play fully through but if you zoom in on the video to try to enlarge it, and then hit play half of the time, it only plays one second of the full video no matter how long the video is. There are rubbers that in 18.2 that the issue of videos opening in a smaller screen and whether in the full screen, the plate controls are removed is apparently fixed. But we will see soon. I hope that they bring back the dab slider/scroll bar/thumb down scrubber. That was invaluable and made playback and seeking for certain parts of the video easy such as to grab screenshots or to quickly jump to a section of that you’re looking for. Now it’s completely mysterious because of the translucent white bar and you have no idea where you are when you’re thumbing away especially on longer videos.

Oct 24, 2024 7:55 AM in response to JohnnyApple2

JohnnyApple2 wrote:

The new way of viewing videos in the photos app is terrible. Apple, please fix it or revert it back to how it was before. I am seriously considering switching to an Android device because of this problem; it’s that debilitating for everyday use of my iPhone :(

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Video Playback on iOS 18 is Broken - Video size is small and timeline ends early when setting video to full frame or zooming in. Serious bug.

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