At IBC 2025, we spoke with Craig Heffernan from Blackmagic Design about their new Professional Dock for the iPhone 17 Professional. Introduced in tandem with Apple’s newest cellphone, the dock provides professional options the cellphone alone can’t present: HDMI monitoring, genlock, timecode, audio in/out, exterior storage, and a devoted energy enter. It basically transforms the iPhone 17 right into a digital camera that may be rigged for impartial movies, broadcast work, and even multi-camera productions.
Increasing iPhone video past USB-C
The iPhone 17 Professional can seize in 4K and ProRes RAW, however the system itself is proscribed to a single USB-C port. The Professional Dock, which we checked out intimately just a few days in the past, expands this into HDMI, USB-C for exterior drives, 3.5mm audio, genlock, and timecode, all routed by a single cable. The {hardware} is engineered to deal with these concurrently with out the bandwidth bottlenecks that may usually happen on the cellphone alone. The dock manages bandwidth internally so filmmakers can run an exterior SSD, feed audio, output HDMI, and sync a number of cameras concurrently with out overloading the cellphone.
Blackmagic Professional Dock. Picture credit score: Blackmagic Design
Monitoring, sync, and audio
The dock’s HDMI output is restricted to 1080p. It’s not meant for high-resolution playback however as an alternative serves as a confidence feed for framing or on-set monitoring, for instance. Genlock and timecode enable a number of iPhones to be synchronized collectively or mixed with Blackmagic and different cinema cameras in blended productions.
Audio is dealt with by a 3.5mm enter, which may be tailored to XLR by exterior packs. Whereas many productions will proceed recording audio individually, this enter gives a simple approach to seize scratch audio or a backup monitor on to the iPhone.
Picture credit score: CineD
Energy and mounting choices
The dock requires an exterior 12V DC provide for full performance. Energy is distributed not solely to the iPhone but in addition to related equipment like SSDs. Relying solely on the iPhone’s inner battery is feasible, however it’ll shortly deplete the battery.
Mounting factors on the highest and backside make it simple to combine the dock into present rigs. Craig stated that Blackmagic has opted to not produce a customized cage, relying as an alternative on present options from firms corresponding to SmallRig, for instance. The light-weight construct permits the dock to take a seat comfortably on gimbals or tripods, which fits cell journalists and impartial filmmakers who want compact but skilled setups.
Picture credit score: Blackmagic Design
Pricing and availability
The Blackmagic Professional Dock for iPhone 17 will retail for $299 / €255. It’s anticipated to ship with the discharge of the iPhone 17 subsequent week, initially by Apple Shops, and later through Blackmagic resellers. Help for each the Blackmagic Digital camera app and Apple’s native video software program will comply with shortly after the iPhone 17 launch.
What do you assume? May the Professional Dock push the iPhone additional into skilled filmmaking, or is it nonetheless finest reserved for particular use circumstances like cell journalism and indie tasks? Inform us your ideas within the feedback!
