If you already know how to record video on Android, then you will inevitably want to know how to edit videos on Android as well. Editing a video can help you take out unnecessary sections, add information annotations, and improve the overall quality of your video. Which editing features you can use on your Android phone will depend on what model you own. However, there are basic video editing features that can be found on most Android video editors.
Additionally, you can download a 3rd-party app to add more video editing features to your phone. In this article, we will list 5 of the best Android video editor apps from the Google Play store. If your native video editor does not include all of the features that you need, you can use one of the following apps to create the perfect Android videos.
How to Edit Videos on Android Phone
First, let’s cover how to edit videos on Android without downloading a third-party app. Most Android devices come with basic video editing software. To access this software, you need to find your video’s location on your device. Most Android phones store videos in a photos, videos, or files app. For instructions on how to locate videos on your specific device, go to your device manufacturer’s website.
Once you find your video’s location, click on the “edit” button to open up the video editor. From here, the video editing options available to you will depend on your device. For example, the Google Pixel 4a, as shown above, includes the ability to crop videos, adjust the image quality, add filters, and draw on videos with a pen or highlighter. Cropping and trimming are the most commonly found video editing features found on native Android apps, though not every Android includes these features.
How to Crop a Video on Android
Cropping a video involves making the video’s image size smaller, just as you would with a picture. For example, if the top of your video shows your thumb, you can crop out the top section. To crop your video, simply go to the “crop” tab on your video editor. This will add adjustable lines and corners to the perimeter of your video. Simply readjust these lines to the size that you want your video to be, then click “save” or “done”. Any section of your image not found within the new perimeter will be cropped. Remember: this will crop out this section for the total duration of your video, so be sure that it isn’t cropping out any important information!
How to Trim a Video on Android
Some Android phones also include the ability to trim from the beginning and end of your video. To trim your video, go to the “trim” tab in your video editor. This will add adjustable bars along the timestamp of your video. To trim the beginning of your video, move the left bar to the right until you hit the point where you want your video to start. To trim the end, move the right bar to the left until you hit the point where you want your video to end. Then, click “save” or “done”.
Best Android Video Editor Apps
If your native Android video editor does not include all of the features you need, you can download a third-party editor app. There are dozens of such apps in the Google Play store, most of them free or available at a low-cost. Below are the five best Android video editor apps that you can find in the app store.
YouCut is a free top-rated video editor app. You can trim, crop, and split your videos into separate clips. You can also merge separate videos into one recording. To further perfect your videos, you can add filters, adjust brightness and colors, add borders, and change or blur the background. You can also add text and decide when and where your text appears on the video. While viewing your video, you can adjust the playback speed and zoom in or out. Best of all, you can add music to your videos or photo slideshows. YouCut is perfect for creating videos for TikTok, Instagram, and other social media apps, especially since it doesn’t include a watermark.
FilmoraGo is a mobile video creation and editing app from the creative software company Wondershare. After recording videos, you can edit them with stickers, filters, backgrounds, text, and music. You can also trim videos or merge clips into one recording. Once you’re done editing, you can post videos directly to Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.
These basic features are all available for free. However, you can pay $29.99 to access HD video, watermark removal, premium stickers, and video templates.
Vimeo Create is the top video hosting platform’s video editing app. This app is unique in that it includes a smart video editing feature that can automatically edit your video to match a video template or optimize it for ad marketing or social media. This feature can save frequent video creators the time they would spend perfecting each video.
If you don’t want the app to automatically edit your videos, or if you don’t like how they edited it, you can also do your revisions. You can combine your video clips with stock images, footage, and music in the app. You can also add text to your videos and adjust the font, colors, and layout. Finally, you can add video filters and other effects to finish your video.
Vimeo Create can be downloaded for free. You can try it out on a free trial, but to continue using the app, you will have to eventually purchase a premium Vimeo subscription starting at $7/mo.
InShot is a free highly-rated video and photo editor. You can trim, crop, and split videos in multiple clips. You can also merge videos into one recording. InShot includes numerous filters, stickers, text, effects, and backgrounds that you can add to your videos. You can also add music, sound effects, or a voice-over. You can even add video and photo layers above the original video! Other advanced video features include a chroma key, color picker, keyframes, and masking. When playing your videos, you can adjust playback speed. Videos can be shared directly to popular social media apps like TikTok and WhatsApp.
Tempo is different from the other Android video editors on this list in that it is primarily a music video maker. Unsurprisingly, Tempo offers a variety of background music that you can add to your videos. You can also add video effects, transition effects, filters, and stickers. You can add these elements separately or build your video from a video template centered on a certain theme or music genre. Tempo also includes basic editing features such as trimming, cropping, and video merge.
Tempo is free to download, though you can also purchase a monthly subscription in-app for unlimited access to all features.