If you want to know how to compress a video on your mobile or tablet, you have reached the article you were looking for. Compressing a video allows us, in addition to saving storage space, to make the task of sharing it much faster and easier since it will avoid fighting with the application if the video takes up too much. In addition, it will also allow us to save on mobile data.
If you usually share or want to share most of the videos you record or edit with your mobile, it is likely that instead of looking for applications to compress a video on your mobile or tablet, it is better for you to lower the resolution in which you record them.
In this way, you will not only reduce the total size of the file on your device, but you will also be able to edit and/or share it more quickly and easily. Plus, you'll be able to reduce the size of any video you download to your device, like twitch-clips, Youtube videos…
How to change video recording resolution on iPhone
To reduce the resolution of the videos that we record with our iPhone or iPad, we must carry out the steps that I show you below:
- Click on the application Settings.
- Within Settings, click on Camera.
- In the Camera section, click on Record Videos.
- Finally, we select the resolution in which we want to record the videos (the resolution varies depending on the iPhone model).
At the bottom, we can see how much space the one-minute recording takes up in each of the available resolutions.
How to change video recording resolution on Android
To change the resolution of the videos that we record with an Android mobile, we will carry out the following steps:
- We open the camera application and select the Video mode (if we do not select it, the settings for taking photos will be displayed, not recording videos).
- Click on the gear that allows us to access the video recording options.
- We look for the Video resolution option and select the format that we want to use to record the videos.
- Yes, there is also the Frame rate option, we can also click on it to reduce the number of fps (the higher the number, the more space the videos take up).
Android apps to compress videos
Panda Video Compressor
One of the most popular applications available in the Google Play Store to reduce the size of videos is Panda Video Compressor. This app has an average rating of 4,7 stars out of a possible 5 after receiving more than 450.000 reviews.
With Panda Compressor, we can reduce or enlarge the resolution of the videos to the following resolutions:
- 240 × 426
- 360 × 640
- 480 × 854
- 600 × 1066
- 768 × 1366
- 1024 × 1820
- 1200 × 2134
- 1280 × 2276
- 1152 × 2048
- 1440 × 2560
- 3072 × 5462
The video formats supported by this application are:
- mp4
- avi
- mkv
- flv
- 3gg
- mpeg
Pada Video Compressor is available to download for free, includes ads and in-app purchases. Requires Android 4.4 or later.
Video compressor
Another interesting application that we have available in the Play Store to compress videos on Android phones or tablets is Video Compressor – Compact Video. This app has an average rating of 4.8 stars out of a possible 5 after receiving more than 70000 reviews.
This application supports the formats:
- MP4
- MKV
- REVIEWS
- 3GP
- FLV
- MTS
- MPEG
- MPG
- WMV
- M4V
- MOV
- VOB
It allows us to create different profiles and store them on the device. This allows us to select one or another profile depending on the purpose of the video (send it via WhatsApp, by email, reduce its size on the device...).
One of the most interesting points of this application is that it allows us to use the H.265 (HEVC) codec, a codec that offers much more image compression while maintaining quality. Of course, the process will take longer to carry out than if we use the veteran H.264.
Video Compressor is available for free download, includes ads and in-app purchases to unlock Pro features. It requires Android 5.0 or later and you can download it via the link below.
iOS apps to compress videos
iMovie
iMovie is Apple's video editor, an editor with which we can create all kinds of videos by adding effects, transitions, music... As a good video editor, it also allows us to select the output resolution of the videos.
To change the resolution of the videos with iMovie, we must carry out the steps that I show you below:
- First, once we have created the project and have selected the video to which we want to reduce the resolution, we return to the main page.
- Next, click on the video and then on the Share button.
- In the next step, click on Options, an option that is displayed at the top of the Share menu.
- Finally, we select the resolution with which we want to store the video on our device.
This app is completely free, available on the App Store and does not include any ads or in-app purchases. iMovie requires iOS 15 or later.
video compressor
iMovie (iOS 15) requirements make Apple's app less than ideal for older devices. An excellent alternative to iMovie is Video Compressor. This application has an average rating of 4,7 stars out of a possible 5 after receiving more than 1.400 ratings.
Unlike other applications, with this application we can specify the level of compression that we want without struggling with a resolution list that very few users understand. It also allows us to reduce the number of frames to further reduce the final size of the file.
Video Compressor is available for free download, requires iOS 9 or later, includes ads and an in-app purchase that removes them and gives us access to features locked in the free version.
With messaging apps
Messaging applications (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber...) allow us to automatically compress the videos that we send through their applications.
If our intention is to reduce the space occupied by the videos to send them through these applications, it is probably not really worth downloading the applications that we have mentioned in this article.
These applications will inform us of the total size of the video that we are going to share once compressed, which will allow us to get an idea of the amount of data that we are going to spend and the approximate time it will take to send it.
If you are not convinced by these figures, you can use one of the applications that we have mentioned in this article to compress a video on your mobile or tablet.