Either it’s a marketing mistake or a bug, but the iPhone 5s’ new slo-mo feature apparently isn’t recording at 720p as advertised. When compared with output from a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, it seems to be taken at 480p instead, then upsized to 720p.

One of the new features of the iPhone 5s camera is the so-called slo-mo video recording, which lets users record a video at 120 frames per second which can then be viewed in slow motion to get the intended effect. According to the website, the video recorded is 720p quality, but some users have noticed lower quality output, leading some to investigate the matter using the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

It might be be comparing apples to oranges, considering the Galaxy Note 3 does not have a similar slo-mo feature, but the evidence is still worth examining. A video taken using the iPhone 5s slo-mo mode in 720p ended up lacking some details when compared to a similar shot using the Galaxy Note 3, also recorded at 720p. On the other hand, a video recorded with the Galaxy Note 3 at 480p then upscaled to 720p gave an output quite similar to that of the iPhone 5s. The testers noted that the iPhone can’t record non-slo-mo regular videos at 720p, so those can’t be compared.

galaxy-note-3-iphone-5s-slo-mo-2

We’ll give the benefit of the doubt that this is merely a software bug that can be fixed with an update soon. Either that or Apple hasn’t been clear on the feature’s intended behavior. Amusingly, the slo-mo effect does indeed record videos as 120 fps, resulting in videos that practically cannot be viewed on PCs or any other player, unless forced to run four times slower than normal.

21 COMMENTS

  1. Seems like a bad comparison. The tester should have used either 2 iPhone 5S’s or just rerecorded once in normal 720p mode and once in slo-mo mode and compared the frames. This does seem to point to the idea that it really isn’t doing full 720p though, which should warrant more controlled testing to see if Apple is playing it loose in their marketing.

    • just what i wanted to write.
      however, for reference, the extra test compared to note 3 is also useful, to compare the normal-speed-720p video quality between the two devices.

  9. the note 3 Can shoot In 4k and 1080p HDR video at 60 fps. You shoot in 1920×1080 and view at 1920×1080 on the screen not 1136×640 4inch screen. HD starts at 1280×720. Another shocker is that Iphoney 5S can only record mono sound when recording video while other phones record in stereo sound

  13. I think it’s hilarious that even though nothing was stated FOR SURE and what was stated has fact behind it, Apple fan boys still try to mock Android users. I’m sorry my phone has a 1080p screen, can record REAL 720p slow-mo, and 4K video. I’m sorry EVERY SINGLE spec on my phone beats yours, is more up to date, and not so stuck up it’s own ass it can’t improve. I’m sorry my OS has real innovation with every new iteration, and doesn’t just copy the competition. I’m sorry I make more informed decisions, not ones based solely off of blind brand devotion. Must make me a hater. Who’da thunk it?

  14. Iphone 5 5c 5s are all the same androide has not better but the the same plus sum specs than tye iphone specs tell you more about how iphone is dropping increasingly more each time another phone comes out the only thing iphone has change is it camera and flash thats it and different but same look androide Samsung galaxy note 3 three comes fully packed with more stuff like more settings for camera organize your screen the way you want it sd card to any size you want longer battery life the list goes on and on its android will forever stay androide but iphone will be ios7 and 8 and 9 but androide just updates simply by pushing update and apps are free and better download speed and faster browsing 🙂

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