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Great Pixel recordings every time: How to screen record on your phone
Discover all the tips and tricks needed to perfect your Pixel recording. Create tutorials, share gameplay and more by learning how to screen record on your Pixel phone.
Screen recording hero image Screen recording hero image Screen recording hero image
What’s a phone screen recording?

In essence, a screen recording captures a video. As you do things on your phone, whether that be flipping between pages or tapping through parts of a website, your phone will capture it all. Plus, it’s also possible to screen record with audio, so you can talk through what you’re doing, which makes learning how to screen record on your phone especially helpful if you’re looking to create tutorials.

Screen recordings vs screenshots.

Screenshots are pretty handy if you want to keep pictures and ideas you’ve seen in passing somewhere easily accessible to you. If you’d like to actively show the process of something, producing a screen recording on your phone is the best bet. Also, being a native feature for Pixel phones, screen recording is a reliable ally in capturing whatever information is displayed on your screen for future reference or to share with your friends, family or audience.

Capture every important moment with phone screen recording.

Perhaps you’re a keen gamer who wants to share tips and pointers about how to play (and win) your favourite mobile game – capturing your screen can help with that. Maybe you simply want to preserve and share special moments. 

Another great use for screen recording on your phone is to save videos that you would not be able to download directly. In this day and age of content that might show up on your screen once, sometimes never to be seen again, this feature could be very useful to capture these fleeting moments for any reason you want, either to share with your friends or to study the material in more detail later, when you have some free time on your hands.

You can even use this feature to document actions you are performing on your phone. Let’s say that you are waiting for an important email with exam results and you want to share your grades with the important people in your life. Hit record while you’re navigating your device and easily send the video to friends, family and loved ones.


A helping hand: phone screen recordings as a tool for support.


Screen recordings are also a great way to store and share knowledge. Have an important video call scheduled, one that you know you will need to revisit to gather detailed information? Just hit record before joining the call and you will have that as an easily accessible video file, you can even clip out relevant segments to make referencing any information there even easier.

Woman working in an office space, using her smartphone close to her face as a tool for the work she is doing.

Perhaps you have an older relative that is not so tech savvy and is having difficulties navigating their phones. Screen recordings are a great tool for remote support. They might capture the issue they are having on their end, share as a video and you can do the same with the solution, so you don’t have to rely on long winded descriptions of menus and settings on a call or through text messages.

The same logic applies if you are experiencing issues on your phone that you are unable to solve. Just hit record, capture the issue and then you have something that you can easily share with tech support so they can get quickly on top of your problem and deliver a solution.  

Whether for education, entertainment or anything else you can think of, you’re sure to discover just how helpful learning to screen record on your Pixel phone can be.

Screen record like a pro: the step-by-step guide.

Screen recording is a built-in feature on Pixel devices, which makes using this handy tool all the more easy. Below you’ll discover how to screen record with audio and without in four simple steps.

Step one

Access Quick Settings by swiping down twice from the top of your screen.

Step two 

Tap the “Screen Record” icon in Quick Settings. If this feature isn’t currently listed, you may need to swipe right or tap “Edit” to add it.

screen recording option on settings Step three

Simply tap “Start” to begin the screen recording. At this point, you’ll be prompted to choose whether you record audio, the entire screen or just a single app.

Record your screen option screen recording on for Google One screen Step four

To stop the recording, swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the screen recorder notification.

stop screen recording option

See, starting and stopping a phone screen recording couldn’t be easier.

How to create Pixel perfect screen recordings.

Now that you know how to create a screen recording, it’s time to learn some tips and tricks to ensure you get the very best video each time.

1: Prepare for the recording

Clear up any clutter that may be on your screen for the best clarity when watching it back. By starting your recording on the exact screen, page or app you need also helps to keep the video clear and concise, which might be important if you’re planning to share tutorials or if you’re documenting an issue to send on. When you prepare properly for the recording, it also makes the editing process much easier and smoother down the line.

2: Turn your notifications off

Imagine you’re halfway through creating an important tutorial or in the midst of recording an ambitious gameplay stunt and a notification pops up, blocking the view. To avoid unnecessary interruptions, simply turn your notifications off before you start recording.

3: Test your audio

If you’ve decided to screen record with audio, testing your microphone first is a useful step. You’ll want to make sure it’s all working correctly before you hit record to prevent needing a do-over.

4: Edit your recording for a perfect final cut

Once you’ve taken your screen recording, it’ll become a video that you can edit to your heart’s content. You might want to trim it down or remove the very start and end part for a more streamlined piece of content. 


Adjusting the brightness, changing the contrast levels and so much more could improve the overall look, too. Plus, with Pixel’s Magic Editor, you can make the most of AI-powered editing tools to create the most polished end product. In particular, these advanced level edits are ideal if you’re sharing recordings as a content creator or in any other professional capacity.

Takeaways
Use the built-in screen recording feature on Pixel phones by swiping down from the top of the screen and tapping the “Screen Record” iconYou can screen record with or without audio, stay only on a single app or choose to record your entire screenTo get the very best out of your recording, clear up any clutter on your screen, turn off notifications and test the audio if you’re planning to use it
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