In Las Vegas, Atomos is presenting the new Ninja Phone, a 10-bit video co-processor that transforms the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max into an OLED preview monitor for HDMI cameras - virtually latency-free, according to Atomos. However, only FullHD is supported.
Atomos Ninja Phone
The Ninja Phone encodes the incoming HDMI signal (max. 1080p60) from a camera into ProRes or H.265 with 10-bit, whereupon the encoded video is sent to the iPhone 15 Pro (Max) via USB-C. The iPhone's advanced A17 system-on-a-chip in turn decodes the video to display it on the high-resolution Super Retina XDR screen. With a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1, support for Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG, a dynamic range of 11 f-stops and a peak brightness of 1600 nits, this surpasses the view on normal camera monitors.
Ninja Phone weighs 112g and has a modular design - it consists of two parts, a case for connection to the smartphone and the processor; the latter can be removed and used with other smartphone cases in the future. The processor of the new Atomos chip generation, AtomIC 5, is said to be extremely quiet and very energy efficient.
Operation is via a Ninja Phone iPhone app, which coordinates the operation of the Ninja Phone and iPhone, effectively merging them into one device. For social media creators who need to shoot in 9:16 portrait mode, the Ninja Phone app adapts to horizontal or vertical video modes. The camera image will be displayed on the iPhone screen with zero latency thanks to Atomos' proven ProRes pipelines, including encoding on the Ninja Phone and decoding via Apple's iPhone.
Video encoded to ProRes by Ninja Phone can be saved to the phone as a .mov file and/or simultaneously transcoded from the iPhone to 10-bit H.265 for camera-to-cloud workflows or live streaming via the iPhone's built-in 5G and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.
External iPhone accessories are also supported as the Ninja Phone integrates a separate USB-C hub, for example to enable the connection of wireless USB-C microphones to perfectly synchronize video and audio. Ninja Phone is powered by standard NP series batteries, a battery eliminator or via USB-C; it can also power the iPhone during use. Incidentally, Atomos has designed the HDMI and USB-C connectors on the Ninja Phone to be particularly secure and robust.
Ninja Phone is set to be launched in June 2024 and will cost 399 dollars. The companion app will also be available at the time of release.
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