Concat on a phone

On a phone, and in any window narrower than about 860 pixels, Concat shows a compact editor rather than a shrunken desktop. Same engine, same project files, same AI features.

The layout

Top to bottom: a top bar (close project on the left, the project’s name in the middle, the Settings gear and Export on the right), the monitor, a row with Fit, Undo and Redo, a round Play button, the lanes with a centred playhead (drag the lanes to scrub), Zoom out and in, and the bottom strip of tools.

The bottom strip

With nothing selected: Media, Text, Effects, Filters, Transitions, Captions, Speak, Project. Each opens a sheet that slides up; swipe down to close it.

• Media: an Import media button and the bin. Tap a file to put it on the timeline at the playhead.
• Text: Add a title, or a title in one of the looks.
• Effects, Filters, Transitions: a search field and the catalogue. Effects and transitions go on the selected clip, so select one first.
• Captions and Speak: the same Captions and Text to speech sheets as the desktop. See auto-captions and text to speech.
• Project: the project’s facts and a Modify button for the frame and rate.

With a clip selected the strip changes to Back, Split, Delete, then the tools for that kind of clip: Edit (transform, blend, remove background), Text, Filter, Speed, Audio, Adjust, Effects, Transitions, Duplicate, Freeze, Reverse, Mirror, Rotate, Captions, Speak, and More for the rest of the clip menu.

What is different

• Split cuts the selected clip at the playhead; there is no razor.
• Undo and Redo are the two buttons beside the monitor.
• Settings has no Remote (Automation) and no Version page, and from 0.2.8 no Shortcuts or Scale. Updates come from the APK or IPA on GitHub Releases.
• The start screen has no Open project and no location picker on Android: projects live where the app puts them.
• Export has no Browse: on Android the file goes to the phone’s Movies folder, where the gallery shows it.

Known problems in 0.2.7

• iPhone and iPad: Import media does nothing, so no clip can be brought in. Fixed in 0.2.8.
• Android phones without Vulkan: the app closes as it opens. 0.2.8 falls back to OpenGL ES.
• Android: switching dark mode, the font size or the language while the app is open closes it. Fixed in 0.2.8.
• Titles in Thai, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali or Korean draw as boxes on phones. Fixed in 0.2.8.

New in 0.2.8

• The lanes glide. A flick along the lanes carries on after your finger lifts and slows to a stop, as other lists on the phone do.
• Pinch to zoom the lanes, with the same limits as the zoom buttons. The zoom stays centred on the playhead.
• A tap selects without seeking. Tapping a clip selects it and leaves the playhead where it was, so the clip no longer jumps away from your thumb.
• Frame step buttons either side of Play step one frame back or on; hold one to keep stepping. The timecode shows the frame you are on.
• New tools on the strip: Voiceover (the Voiceover panel as a sheet) and Canvas (the background and Fit or Fill) on the main strip; Canvas, Audio effects and Enhance on a clip’s strip.
• Import on iPhone and iPad asks Photos or Files. What you pick is copied into the app’s Documents, which the Files app now shows (projects, Imported and Exports). A finished export goes into Photos and stays in Exports.
• Captions: the Captions sheet can pick and write .srt files on a phone. See auto-captions.
• Settings fills the screen, with its pages as tabs and every model row whole. New project asks a phone for no location, and the Export sheet stays inside the system’s bars.

Install

Android: the APK from the download picker; allow installs from this source the first time. iOS and iPadOS: a beta IPA, sideloaded. See install.