Recording iOS Devices

iOS Device Recording

ScreenKite can record your iPhone or iPad screen when connected via USB cable, capturing the device's display directly.

ScreenKite for iPhone

ScreenKite also ships a standalone iPhone app that records on-device without a Mac or cable.

The two approaches compared:

Setup

1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a USB cable
2. Trust the computer on your iOS device if prompted
3. Open the Recording Hub and select Device as the recording source
4. Your connected device will appear in the list

How It Works

ScreenKite uses separate sessions for capture and preview:

• Capture session — records the device screen to a video file
• Preview session — shows a live preview on your Mac

Automatic Device Frame Detection

When you record an iOS device, ScreenKite automatically detects the device model by matching the video resolution. The appropriate device bezel/frame is applied automatically in the Project Editor.

Device Preview Window

During recording, a floating preview window shows the live device feed. This window is resizable, movable, and joins all Spaces.

Camera Overlay and Background Removal in Device Mode

Camera overlay works in USB device mode. Enable Camera in the Recording Hub before starting — the camera feed records alongside the device screen and appears as a separate track in the Project Editor.

Background removal is supported in device mode. Open the Camera inspector tab in the Project Editor and enable the Remove Background toggle in the Effects section. ScreenKite processes the camera file after recording ends.

Camera Overlay with iDevice Recording

When Camera is toggled on in the Recording Hub and you start a device recording, ScreenKite runs a camera preflight check concurrently with the ~1.5-second start cue. This sequence verifies permission, resolves the right camera device, and warms up the preview before the screen capture begins. If anything prevents the camera from starting, ScreenKite aborts the recording before it starts and shows a toast with the reason — no partial bundle is written.

Abort reasons and remediation

1. Camera access denied

Toast: "Camera access denied. Enable in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera."

Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and grant access to ScreenKite, then try again.

2. No cameras found

Toast: "No cameras are currently available."

Check that a camera is connected and not disabled. If you are using a Continuity Camera or external USB camera, reconnect it and try again.

3. Selected camera disappeared

Toast: "The selected camera is unavailable. Choose another camera to continue."

The camera you had selected was disconnected or became unavailable between when you chose it and when recording tried to start. Open the Camera menu in the Recording Hub, select an available camera, and start recording again.

4. Preview warm-up timed out (camera in use)

Toast: "Camera could not start. It may be in use by another app — please close other camera apps and try again."

Another app (FaceTime, Zoom, Photo Booth, etc.) is holding the camera. Quit that app and start the recording again.

Automatic fallback

If your preferred camera is unavailable but another camera is present, ScreenKite falls back automatically and shows a brief toast:

"Selected camera unavailable. Falling back to <device name>."

Recording continues with the fallback camera and your preference is updated.