Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign has become an unlikely part of modern pop history, with artists using the company’s latest smartphones to create music videos that range from intimate one-takes to elaborate visual productions. From Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga to Olivia Rodrigo, NewJeans, The Weeknd and now ROSÉ, each project has shown a different way to turn a phone camera into part of the creative process.
The campaign has never followed a single visual formula. Sometimes the iPhone disappears completely into the filmmaking, while other videos make the device itself part of the story, allowing Apple to demonstrate new technology at the same time artists introduce new music.
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Selena Gomez — “Lose You To Love Me”
Selena Gomez helped establish the modern music-video side of the campaign in October 2019, when she released “Lose You To Love Me” and “Look at Her Now,” both filmed on the iPhone 11 Pro and directed by Sophie Muller.
“Lose You To Love Me” took the more restrained approach. Shot in black and white, the video keeps Gomez largely at the center of the frame as she works through the end of a toxic relationship and moves toward self-love. The production relied on relatively simple setups, studio lighting and a fluid-head camera, reinforcing the idea that striking music videos did not necessarily require a traditional Hollywood production.
“Look at Her Now” provided the contrast. Brighter, faster and more energetic, the video presented Gomez in a celebratory mood, reflecting the song’s message of having “dodged a bullet.” Together, the two videos established an important early principle of the campaign: the iPhone could produce professional-looking footage without making the technology feel like the entire point.
Lady Gaga — “Stupid Love”
A few months later, Lady Gaga pushed the concept in a much more elaborate direction with “Stupid Love.” Released in February 2020 as the lead single from Chromatica, the video was filmed on the iPhone 11 Pro and directed by Daniel Askill.
Multiple iPhones were mounted on Steadicams, drones and handheld rigs, with Filmic Pro also used during production. The resulting video transformed Gaga into the leader of the “Kindness Punks,” a group caught in a neon, post-apocalyptic conflict.
The visual scale was considerably larger than Gomez’s videos, but the central idea remained the same: a smartphone could serve as the primary camera for a major pop production. Gaga’s colorful costumes, choreography and surreal world made the project feel like a conventional big-budget music video while the technology behind it remained deliberately visible.
Marcus Mumford — “Cannibal”
Marcus Mumford’s “Cannibal” took the campaign in almost the opposite direction. Released in July 2022, the video marked Steven Spielberg’s first music video as a director and was filmed in a single continuous take on Spielberg’s own iPhone.
The production was remarkably stripped back. Spielberg was pushed around a New York high-school gym on a rolling office chair by his wife, Kate Capshaw, while Carey Mulligan worked on costumes and sound. Shot in black and white, the one-take approach allowed the camera to function less as a technological showcase and more as a witness to the performance.
NewJeans — “ETA”
NewJeans made the iPhone part of the narrative itself with “ETA,” released in July 2023 and shot on the iPhone 14 Pro. Directed by Woo-seok Shin and produced by Min Hee-jin, the video turned familiar smartphone functions into storytelling tools.
FaceTime, Action mode and Cinematic mode are incorporated into the action as the members discover that their friend’s boyfriend is cheating during a party in Barcelona. They film evidence on their phones while moving through the story, making the device both camera and narrative object.
The video even opens with “Shot on iPhone 14 Pro,” immediately establishing the technology as part of the visual language. Instead of hiding how the footage was captured, NewJeans used the phone to make the story feel more immediate and connected to the way young people actually communicate.
Olivia Rodrigo — “get him back!”
Olivia Rodrigo’s “get him back!” arrived in September 2023, shortly after Apple introduced the iPhone 15 Pro. Directed by Jack Begert, the video became a showcase for several of the phone’s filmmaking capabilities.
Rodrigo appears as multiple versions of herself, with the clones driving through a chaotic revenge fantasy involving smashed cars and destroyed roses. The production used ProRes 4K Log recording, USB-C external recording and the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x zoom.
The technology fit the song’s central joke perfectly. “Get him back!” can mean wanting an ex back or wanting revenge, and the video turns that contradiction into an exaggerated visual world. Releasing the video immediately after the phone’s unveiling also gave Rodrigo access to hardware that audiences had not yet been able to buy.
The Weeknd — “Dancing In The Flames”
The Weeknd continued the campaign in September 2024 with “Dancing In The Flames,” filmed on the iPhone 16 Pro. Directed by Anton Tammi and shot by cinematographer Erik Henriksson, the video placed Abel Tesfaye inside a vintage convertible during a violent storm.
The iPhone 16 Pro’s 4K 120 fps recording became central to the visual approach. High-frame-rate footage allowed rain, headlights and movement to be slowed dramatically, while speed-ramping created sharp transitions between real-time action and cinematic slow motion.
ROSÉ — “new trick”
ROSÉ is now taking the campaign into its next generation with “new trick,” her first solo release since Rosie. The song was previewed during Apple’s September 2026 iPhone 18 Pro announcement, with the music video filmed entirely on the new flagship by Dave Meyers, who also directed BLACKPINK’s “Jump.”
The teaser places the technology directly into the concept. ROSÉ appears holding a burgundy lollipop whose wrapper carries the “new trick” branding before flipping to reveal “Shot on iPhone 18 Pro.” The singer had also appeared in early promotional imagery for the phone, including a selfie showing the new burgundy finish.
Apple’s latest Pro models introduce a 48-megapixel Fusion main camera with a mechanical variable aperture, giving filmmakers greater control over light and depth of field. New Pro controls, post-capture Cinematic effects at 60 fps, 4K Dolby Vision time-lapse and Audio Mix further expand the phone’s production capabilities, while the A20 Pro chip provides the computational power behind the processing.
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