It is one of those tiny, fingernail-on-a-chalkboard frustrations that makes you wonder if the engineers at Apple ever actually use their own products. You're recording your kid doing something adorable, or maybe a cooking demo, and you need a break. You look for the pause button. It isn't there. Honestly, it’s baffling. Every other camera on the planet has a pause function, yet here we are, wondering how do you pause video on iPhone while staring at a giant red "Stop" button that threatens to end your masterpiece prematurely.
The reality is a bit of a mixed bag.
Apple’s native Camera app—the one we all use by default—doesn't technically have a "pause" button while you're in the middle of a recording. If you hit that red square, the file saves. It's done. To keep going, you start a brand new file. This leaves you with a camera roll full of four-second clips that you eventually have to stitch together in iMovie like some kind of digital seamstress. It’s clunky. It feels dated. But, surprisingly, there are workarounds that most people completely overlook because they’re hidden behind different modes or third-party solutions.
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The Workaround Nobody Mentions: Video While in Photo Mode
Believe it or not, there is a "secret" way to mimic a pause if you change how you start the recording. It's called QuickTake.
If you are in the standard Photo mode (not Video mode), you can press and hold the shutter button to start recording. If you slide your finger over to the right toward the "Lock" icon, the recording stays active even when you let go. Now, here is the kicker: while you are recording in this QuickTake mode, a white shutter button appears next to the stop button.
It's for taking stills. But if you want to "pause" and rethink your life? You can't.
Wait, let's be real. That doesn't solve the pause issue. It just makes it easier to snap photos while filming. The truth is, if you want to know how do you pause video on iPhone natively, the answer is: you don't. You stop and start.
However, if you're using the Clips app—which Apple actually makes but barely promotes—you can hold the record button, let go to "pause," and hold it again to resume. It creates one single cohesive file. Why this hasn't been ported over to the main camera app since the iPhone 11 era is anyone's guess.
Why Third-Party Apps Are Actually the Answer
If you're serious about mobile cinematography, or even just filming a vlog without 50 separate files, you have to look elsewhere. Apps like VideoCam or PauseCam were literally built because of this specific Apple oversight.
- PauseCam: It’s arguably the most famous. You hit record, you hit pause. It waits for you. When you’re done, you export it.
- Filmic Pro: This is the big guns. It’s what professionals use. It offers granular control over shutter speed and ISO, but more importantly, it handles the recording process with far more grace than the stock app.
- ProMovie: A middle-ground option that gives you a dedicated pause button without the steep learning curve of high-end cinema apps.
Using a third-party app changes the workflow entirely. You aren't fighting the software anymore. You’re just filming. It’s a bit of a bummer to have to download an extra app for a feature that feels like it should have been there in 2007, but that’s the "Apple Way" sometimes. They prioritize "simplicity," even when that simplicity makes things more complicated for the user.
Editing Your Way Out of the Problem
Let's say you already filmed ten different clips. You didn't know how do you pause video on iPhone or that you couldn't, so now your library is a mess.
Don't panic.
Open iMovie. It’s free. It’s already on your phone (or in the App Store). Tap "Movie," select all those fragmented clips in the order you shot them, and hit "Create Movie." The app automatically strings them together. You can tap the transitions between the clips to make them "None," which creates a jump cut that looks exactly like you paused and resumed.
It takes about thirty seconds. It’s a bandage, sure, but it’s an effective one.
The "Live Photo" Trick for Short Bursts
Sometimes people ask about pausing because they just want a series of short moments. If that’s you, Live Photos might actually be your best friend.
When you take a Live Photo, the iPhone captures 1.5 seconds before and after the shutter press. If you take a string of these, you can later go into the Photos app, select them all, tap the three dots (or the share icon depending on your iOS version), and choose "Save as Video."
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Magic.
The iPhone stitches them into a seamless loop or a continuous video file. It’s perfect for capturing a vacation or a party where you want the "vibe" without having to manage a twenty-minute long recording.
Apple's Logic vs. User Reality
Why does Apple do this?
Industry experts often point toward file integrity. When a camera pauses, it has to keep the file "open" in the buffer. If your phone dies or the app crashes while paused, you might lose the whole thing. By forcing a "Stop and Save" model, Apple ensures that even if your phone gets chucked into a lake ten seconds later, those first ten seconds are safely written to the disk.
It’s about reliability. It’s about making sure Grandma doesn't lose the footage of the first birthday cake because she forgot she left the camera on pause for twenty minutes.
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Still, for the rest of us, it’s annoying.
Modern Hardware Considerations
On the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 series, we have the Action Button. You can actually program this button to trigger specific shortcuts.
If you’re tech-savvy, you can build a Shortcut that opens a third-party camera app directly to a recording state. It doesn't give the native app a pause button, but it makes the "fix" feel much more like a part of the hardware.
- Open the Shortcuts app.
- Create a new shortcut that opens "PauseCam" or "ProMovie."
- Assign that shortcut to the Action Button in Settings.
- Now, one click and you're in a professional recording environment.
Actionable Steps for Better iPhone Filming
Stop fighting the native app if it doesn't do what you need. If you want to master how do you pause video on iPhone, stop looking for a button that isn't coming in a software update anytime soon.
First, try the Clips app for social-style videos; it’s the only official Apple way to "hold to record" and create a single file. Second, if you're doing a long-form project, download ProMovie or Filmic Pro to get a literal pause button.
Finally, get comfortable with iMovie or CapCut. The modern way to "pause" isn't to stop the sensor; it’s to edit the silence out later. Use the "Stop" button as your pause. Treat every new clip as a new "scene." When you’re done, use the "Save as Video" function in your library or a quick merge in an editor to bring it all back together.
It isn't perfect, but once you stop looking for the pause icon, you can actually get back to filming the world around you.
Grab a third-party app today and try a 5-minute test run. You’ll find that having a real pause button feels like a superpower you didn't know you were missing.