Change the screen capture settings on iPhone

In Settings, you can customize how screenshots and screen recordings work on your iPhone, including preview style, visual lookup features, and capture formats.

Preview screenshots as thumbnails

After you take a screenshot, it appears in full screen by default. If you prefer a temporary thumbnail preview in the bottom-left corner, do the following:

  1. Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
    on your iPhone.

  2. Tap General, then tap Screen Capture.

  3. Turn off Full-Screen Previews.

Use Visual Lookup

You can have iPhone automatically identify and learn about objects and places that appear in screenshots.

  1. Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
    on your iPhone.

  2. Tap General, then tap Screen Capture.

  3. Turn on Automatic Visual Look Up.

Capture screenshots from CarPlay

  1. Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
    on your iPhone.

  2. Tap General, then tap Screen Capture.

  3. Turn on CarPlay Screenshots.

Choose SDR or HDR format for screenshots and recordings

  1. Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
    on your iPhone.

  2. Tap General, then tap Screen Capture.

  3. Choose one of the following:

    • SDR: This option captures less brightness and color. It’s standard for most computer displays and mobile devices. Screenshots use PNG format, and screen recordings use HEVC (H.265).

    • HDR: This option captures more brightness and color. It requires an HDR display to show the full quality. Screenshots use HEIC format, and screen recordings use HEVC (H.265) in an HDR container.

      Note: On standard displays, HDR screenshots appear in SDR format, and HDR recordings play back with slightly reduced quality.

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