Recording your iPhone 15 screen is a fantastic way to create tutorials, save memorable video calls, or capture a high score in a game. The feature is built directly into iOS 26, and setting it up to record both your screen and your voice is straightforward. I'll walk you through the entire process.
Add the Screen Recording Button to Control Center
First, you need to make sure the screen recording shortcut is in your Control Center. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center. Press and hold on any empty space between the icons until they start to jiggle, then tap Add a Control at the bottom.
Search for "Screen Recording" and tap the green + icon next to it. This adds the button, which looks like a solid circle inside a ring. Now you can access it instantly from any app or screen on your iPhone 15.
Start Recording Your Screen
To begin, swipe down from the top-right to open Control Center again. Simply tap the new Screen Recording button. You'll see a three-second countdown, giving you time to navigate to the app or screen you want to capture.
Once recording starts, the button in Control Center will turn red, and a red pill-shaped indicator will appear in your Dynamic Island or status bar. This lets you know the capture is active. Everything you do and see on the display from this point is being recorded.
How to Record Your Screen with Audio
By default, the recorder only picks up system sounds from your iPhone 15. To include your voice narration or ambient audio, you need to enable the microphone. Don't just tap the button, press and hold it.
A small menu will pop up. At the bottom, you'll see a Microphone button. Tap it to turn it on (it will highlight in blue). Then, tap Start Recording. Now, your screen recording will include both the phone's audio and anything your microphone picks up.
Stopping and Finding Your Recording
When you're finished, the easiest way to stop is to tap the red recording indicator in the Dynamic Island. A prompt will appear asking you to confirm; tap Stop. You can also stop it by opening Control Center and tapping the red recording button again.
The video file saves automatically to your Photos app. You can find it in the main "Recents" album or by going to the "Albums" tab and looking in the "Videos" album. It's usually the most recent video at the top.
Editing and Trimming the Video
Open the recording in the Photos app and tap Edit in the top-right corner. You'll see a timeline at the bottom. Drag the handles on either end to trim off the beginning and end, this is perfect for cutting out the moments where you opened Control Center to start and stop the recording.
When you're done, tap Done. You can choose to "Save as New Clip" to keep the original, or "Save Video" to overwrite it with your edited version.
Sharing Your Screen Recording
With the video open in Photos, tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up). From here, you can AirDrop it to a Mac, send it via Messages, upload it to cloud storage, or share it on social media. For very long recordings, the file size can be large, so sharing via iCloud Link or uploading to YouTube first might be easier than sending directly through Messages.
Understanding Recording Limitations
Screen recording works with most apps, but there are copyright protections in place. Streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV+ will typically display a black screen during playback to prevent piracy of their content. Music from Apple Music or Spotify may also be muted.
Your own photos, videos, gameplay, and browsing in Safari will record perfectly. It's a great tool for showing someone how to navigate a setting or document a software bug you're experiencing.
Using Recordings for Support
If you encounter a glitch or bug on your iPhone 15, recording the issue is incredibly helpful. Instead of trying to describe a problem to Apple Support or in a forum, you can show them exactly what's happening. Just start a screen recording, replicate the issue, and then you have a perfect visual reference to share.
