Blackmagic just turned the Apple Watch into a remote control for filming with iPhone

Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 is now available in the App Store
Update adds Apple Watch camera controls and iPhone image monitoring
New features also include support for ATEM camera controls

Blackmagic Design, the company behind the popular DaVinci Resolve editing software, has released a big update to its Blackmagic Camera app for iOS.

Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 brings a number of new features and functions, but the highlight for me is the ability to monitor and control the camera using your Apple Watch.

It also provides ATEM camera control for anyone using their Apple device as a live studio camera.

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What’s new?

The Blackmagic Camera app adds camera controls and image processing, giving iPhones and iPads the ability to recreate the cinematic style of a high-end film camera using mobile devices.

The newly updated companion app lets you control and monitor what the iPhone is filming right from your Apple Watch.

Blackmagic Design says this allows users to “monitor framing and audio levels, start and stop recording, and adjust key settings like exposure, focus, and LUT.” You can also change lenses and control the zoom.

All useful stuff, which the company says is “perfect for situations where an iPhone is mounted out of reach or in a position where physically touching it would cause camera shake.”

In a press release, Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design, said: “We really want to help everyone use their iPhones in professional productions and find new ways the iPhone can be used. The Apple Watch companion app does this because it means you can mount an iPhone anywhere and still have full control over it from your wrist.”

On top of that, the app now also adds support for ATEM camera control, allowing you to “use the iPhone as a live studio camera.”

Plug the phone into the company’s ProDock and it will also offer Blackmagic Focus and Zoom Demands.

Petty called this “the coolest feature,” adding that support for ATEM camera control “means you can use the iPhone as a studio camera while holding the tripod handles to focus and zoom. It’s a real studio camera and it’s a lot of fun.”

You can download Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 for free from the App Store by clicking here.

All Features Added to Version 3.3 – Patch Notes via Blackmagic Design

Camera control and monitoring with the companion app for Apple Watch.
Support for ATEM camera control with Blackmagic Camera ProDock.
Support for Blackmagic focus and zoom demands with the Blackmagic Camera ProDock.
Support for HDMI output in full screen portrait mode.
The front camera now supports portrait and landscape without rotation for iPhone 17.
Support for ProRes RAW stabilization in iOS 26.1 and higher.
General performance and stability improvements.