Atomos announced the Ninja Phone back in April and now it’s available with the app. It was a bit odd that you could buy the Ninja Phone in early July but the app wasn’t available.

The Ninja Phone is a 10-bit video coprocessor for smartphones and tablets that allows you to record from professional HDMI cameras. Basically, it’s something like a Ninja for your phone.

Atomos has also released a walkthrough video showing how it works and how to set it up.

Designed for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Ninja Phone allows you to use it as a professional monitor recorder that can record 10-bit ProRes or H.265 from any professional camera with HDMI output.

Now there’s a catch. You’re limited to inputting and recording 1080p 60/59.94/50/30/29.97/25/24/23.98fps and 720p 60/59.94/50fps. You can’t input or record 4K footage. Videos can be recorded in ProRes HQ / ProRes 422 / ProRes LT / ProRes Proxy / H.265 Main 10 / H.265 8b / H.264 8b.

The encoded video is sent to the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max’s USB-C port via the Ninja Phone’s USB-C output. The iPhone’s A17 system-on-a-chip decodes the image from the camera sensor to display it on the iPhone screen. The Ninja Phone is built on AtomIC 5, the next generation of Atomos silicon that enables low-power, silent operation while encoding 10-bit ProRes and H.265 with USB-C connectivity. It consumes just 2.4W.

According to Atomos, the camera’s output appears on the iPhone screen with zero latency thanks to Atomos’ ProRes pipeline, encoding on the Ninja Phone, and decoding via Apple’s iPhone.

The video encoded in ProRes can be saved as a MOV file on the phone and/or simultaneously transcoded to 10-bit H.265 by the iPhone for workflows such as camera to the cloud or live streaming over iPhone’s built-in 5G and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.

The iPhone displays are very good, and in fact much better than most built-in camera screens. The latest iPhone screens have a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1 and support Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG. They can also display a claimed 11 stops of dynamic range with a peak brightness of 1600 nits. For this reason, in some ways, using an iPhone as a surveillance screen for your camera makes a lot of sense.

The Ninja Phone iPhone app, available for download from the App Store, controls the operation of both the Ninja Phone and the iPhone.

For social media creators who need to shoot in 9:16 portrait mode, the Ninja Phone app adapts to horizontal or vertical video modes. The Ninja Phone app runs on iOS and iPadOS and is available to download at the time of shipping.

The Ninja Phone weighs 95g and 335g when connected to an iPhone 15 Pro. The Ninja Phone consists of two parts: the Ninja Phone video coprocessor and the Atomos iPhone case. The case provides a secure mount to attach the Ninja Phone to your iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max and allows for the locking USB-C port. Having a separate case also means that if the physical specifications of future iPhones change, you can simply switch the case and continue using the Ninja Phone.

The Ninja Phone supports external iPhone accessories by integrating a separate USB-C hub to enable necessary professional add-ons such as wireless USB-C microphones for perfect sync of video and audio. Third-party accessories are supported through the Ninja Phone and more will be added over time.

The Ninja Phone is powered by standard NP series batteries, a battery eliminator, or a USB-C 5V/3A input. The Ninja Phone will charge the iPhone while in use using any of these power sources.

Atomos has developed a locking ecosystem for connected HDMI and USB-C cables. Atomos’ new cables for the Ninja Phone lock tightly into place, eliminating the risk of accidental disconnection. You can also continue to use traditional non-locking cables, but there is a small catch. Ninja Phone users will also need to purchase an additional case for the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max to ensure the locking cable system can be used.

Thanks to the connectivity of the iPhone 15 Pro, Ninja Phone users can take full advantage of Atomos Cloud Services (ACS), which include camera-to-cloud workflows, remote live production, and cloud editing. With ACS, content creators can publish videos to social media within minutes and filmmakers can send their footage to their post-production team via the cloud for the fastest possible production workflow.

Price & Availability

The Ninja phone costs $399.

In summary, the Ninja Phone is an essential addition to any filmmaker’s toolkit, combining field-proven Atomos ProRes expertise with a superior screen, proven professional monitoring features and integrated mobile connectivity for remote collaborative editing.

Specifications

Thoughts

The Ninja Phone seems like a decent offering and it makes a lot of sense to use an iPhone as a monitor with certain cameras. Recording ProRes to your phone can take up a lot of storage and perhaps it would have been good if the Ninja Phone had integrated or used a small removable NVMe drive rather than having to record directly to your phone. That way you essentially have almost a modern Ninja Star with the added benefit of iPhone monitoring.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen interfaces that allow you to use an iPhone as a monitor for your camera, but correct me if I’m wrong, it’s the first time there’s been a way to record ProRes from a connected HDMI camera to an iPhone.

Although it certainly seems to be an interesting solution, the fact that only HD recording is possible could be a deal breaker for some potential buyers.