Compatible phones
and cameras.

At a glance

• Cameras: the first verified camera is the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, connected over USB-C, the only model we have tested in the field so far. More Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm and Panasonic models are on the way: the Cameras and accessories table below shows the status of each.
• iPhone: a model with a USB-C port (iPhone 15 and later) running iOS 18 or later. On iOS the app is for iPhone only, not iPad.
• Android: Android 8.0 or later (Android 10 or later recommended), a USB-C port with USB host (OTG) support and a hardware video encoder. 6 GB of RAM or more recommended.
• Cable: a USB-C ↔ USB-C data cable. With an iPhone Pro or a USB 3 Android phone, a USB 3 (10 Gb/s) cable is worth it.
• Storage: the originals are copied to the phone, so you need free space at least equal to the day’s footage, plus the proxies.

No phone is listed as “verified” model by model: the lists below follow the app’s technical requirements and the manufacturers’ official specifications. If a listed model gives you trouble, get in touch.

What the phone does with your files

• Control and copy over USB: the camera talks to the phone using the PTP protocol (on iPhone through the system ImageCaptureCore framework, on Android through USB host). Live view, controls and import all go through the cable.
• Video proxies: for each clip the phone creates a 720p H.264 MP4 file (1280×720 on iPhone, 720 px on the short side on Android, with AAC audio). Encoding uses the phone’s hardware encoder.
• Photo previews: a JPEG with a long side of 1600 px. For RAW files (for example CR3) the preview embedded by the camera is used.
• Upload: in Destinations you choose whether to upload originals, proxies or both.

The heaviest task is decoding the R6 Mark II’s 10-bit 4:2:2 H.265 clips (for example with C-Log 3 or HDR PQ). Many phones lack a hardware decoder for 4:2:2 H.265: in that case the proxy may take longer or fail, while the original stays in the library and can still be uploaded. H.264 clips (8-bit 4:2:0) are unaffected.

iPhone with Lightning

Lightning iPhones running iOS 18 can install CineRelay and use the library, import from Files and upload. With Apple’s Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter the camera might be recognised, because the system also handles PTP cameras through the adapter, but we have not tested it and do not officially support it. The app shows a notice on these models, without blocking anything.

iPad and Mac

On iOS, CineRelay is designed for iPhone only. On iPad and on Macs with Apple silicon it may be installable in iPhone compatibility mode, but it is neither supported nor verified.

Requirements

• System: Android 8.0 or later is the app’s minimum; Android 10 or later is recommended, as it reports precisely which video codecs are hardware-based.
• Port: USB-C with USB host (OTG) support. Without USB host the camera cannot connect: Google Play hides CineRelay on phones that do not declare it.
• Video: a hardware H.264 encoder for the proxies and a hardware H.265 (HEVC) decoder, ideally 10-bit, for the camera’s clips.
• Memory: 6 GB of RAM or more recommended (8 GB or more if you shoot 4K 50/60p).
• Storage: see the Storage you need section.

On first launch the app checks USB host, hardware codecs and RAM: if something is missing it shows a notice in the Camera tab, without blocking you.

Recommended models

Recommended on the basis of their specifications, not yet verified one by one. These are recent high-end phones with USB-C and USB host, hardware H.264 and H.265 encoders and at least 8 GB of RAM.

• Google Pixel: Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL and 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL and 10 Pro Fold.
• Samsung Galaxy S: S23, S24, S25 and S26 series (base, Plus/+ and Ultra models).
• Samsung Galaxy Z: Z Fold5, Z Fold6, Z Fold7, Z Flip5, Z Flip6 and Z Flip7.
• OnePlus: OnePlus 12, 13 and 15.
• Xiaomi: Xiaomi 14, 15 and 17, including the Pro and Ultra versions.
• Others: phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or later, MediaTek Dimensity 9200 or later, Google Tensor G3 or later, Samsung Exynos 2400 or later.

Many Android phones, including high-end ones, have a USB-C port limited to USB 2: they work, but copying from the camera is slower. Look for “USB 3.x” in the manufacturer’s specifications.

Accessories

• USB-C ↔ USB-C data cable. Many cables are charge-only, and the camera will not be detected.
• USB 3 cable (10 Gb/s) recommended with iPhone Pro models and USB 3 Android phones: the R6 Mark II’s port is USB 3.2 Gen 2. With a USB 2 iPhone a standard data cable is enough.
• Direct connection. Avoid hubs and adapters where possible: we have not tested them.
• USB-C SD card reader to import without connecting the camera.
• Battery. Live view and long transfers use a lot of power: keep a charger or power bank to hand.

CineRelay copies the originals into the app’s library and creates the proxies alongside them. Your free space therefore needs to cover the footage you import, plus about 5–10% for the proxies.

• R6 Mark II 4K originals: roughly 0.7 to 1.8 GB per minute, depending on codec, frame rate and compression.
• 720p H.264 proxies: roughly 40 to 80 MB per minute.
• Example: 30 minutes of 4K 25p take up about 25–30 GB of originals and 1.2–2.4 GB of proxies.

We recommend at least 64 GB free for a day’s shoot, 128 GB or more if you shoot 4K 50/60p. After uploading you can free up space from the Library: files already uploaded and those on the camera’s card stay where they are.