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Uploading videos in an iOS app may seem simple at first, until real users start uploading large files over mobile networks, switch apps mid-upload, or lose connectivity.
That’s when issues appear: failed uploads, no retries, and a poor user experience.
A video upload SDK handles these challenges for you. It manages chunking, background uploads, retries, and progress updates, so your app stays fast and reliable, even in real-world conditions.
This guide shows how to build a production-ready video upload feature using the iOS Upload SDK.
You can upload video using native APIs like URLSession, but once you move beyond small test files, edge cases start to pile up quickly:
An upload SDK handles these concerns for you. It abstracts the infrastructure, so you can focus on user experience and business logic, not file chunking and error recovery.
You can use URLSession or a basic POST request to upload a video, but here’s what you’ll need to implement on your own:
These are all production-grade features that most users silently expect, and most apps get wrong the first time.
Using an SDK removes this burden. It gives you a complete, battle-tested upload pipeline from day one, so you can ship faster and with fewer edge case bugs.
When using a video upload SDK, it's important to understand what happens behind the scenes. While the SDK handles most of the complexity, knowing how the flow works will help you integrate it cleanly into your app and customize behavior when needed.
Here’s what a typical upload session looks like.
The process starts when the user either records a new video or picks one from their device. This is typically done with UIImagePickerController or a custom recording interface built using AVCaptureSession. At the end of this step, you have a file URL pointing to the local video, ready for upload.
With the file URL in hand, your app passes it to the SDK to begin the upload. You can also attach relevant metadata here, such as the user’s ID, a video title, or tags, if your backend expects that information.
Depending on your setup, you might also configure upload behavior: set the chunk size for large videos, include a signed URL for secure uploads, or prioritize certain files if you're managing a queue.
Once the session is initialized, the SDK handles everything from there: managing retries, tracking progress, and making sure the upload continues even if the app is backgrounded.
Once the upload session is initialized, the SDK takes over and prepares the file for transfer.
Instead of uploading the entire video in a single request, the SDK reads the video from disk and breaks it into smaller chunks, usually around 2–5MB each. These chunks are uploaded one by one or in parallel, depending on what’s optimal for the network.
Why chunking matters:
This step is critical for mobile apps where large files and unstable networks are common. The SDK also automatically handles retries and error recovery for each chunk, so uploads are more likely to succeed without extra work on your part.
As chunks are uploaded, the SDK provides real-time updates so your app can show upload status in the UI.
These updates can include:
You can use this to show a progress bar, display status messages like “Uploading…” or “Retrying…”, or give users a way to retry if needed.
A smooth, visible upload experience builds trust, and the SDK gives you the tools to implement it cleanly.
After all chunks are successfully uploaded, the SDK finalizes the session by notifying your backend that the upload is complete. This usually triggers the next steps, like transcoding the video, generating thumbnails, or making the video available for playback.
At this stage:
This marks the end of the upload flow, leaving you with a clean handoff to whatever comes next in your video pipeline.
What makes this upload flow so effective is that the SDK takes care of all the complexity behind the scenes.
It handles:
As a developer, you don’t need to build custom networking logic or manage upload state manually. The SDK abstracts those concerns so you can focus on the experience your users see, fast, smooth, and reliable video uploads, even on mobile networks.
If you’re building a video upload feature for iOS, the FastPix Upload SDK gives you everything you need out of the box: chunked uploads, pause and resume, retry handling, progress updates, and background upload support.
It’s a lightweight Swift package designed for fast integration and production reliability.
To get started:
With just a few lines of code, you can integrate reliable uploads into your app, and focus on what matters most: the user experience.
To deliver a reliable and user-friendly upload experience, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:
Compress videos before uploading: Large files take longer to upload and are more prone to failure. Use AVAssetExportSession to compress and transcode videos on-device before uploading. This reduces bandwidth usage without compromising too much on quality.
Support retries and resume: Uploads can fail, especially on mobile networks. Your app should never force users to restart from scratch. Instead, use an SDK or logic that allows uploads to resume from where they left off, and automatically retry failed chunks when needed.
Show clear progress feedback: Users need to see that something is happening. Display progress bars, percentage indicators, or estimated time remaining. A visible, responsive UI helps build trust, especially for larger uploads.
Test on real devices and networks: Simulators are not enough. Always test uploads on actual iPhones and iPads across different network types, slow 4G, switching between Wi-Fi and cellular, and spotty coverage. This is the only way to uncover real-world issues before your users do.
Enable background uploads: Mobile users switch apps or lock their screens all the time. Uploads should continue running in the background without disruption. Make sure your implementation supports iOS background transfer modes for long-running tasks.
Even with a solid SDK, a few implementation mistakes can still cause issues. Watch out for these:
The FastPix Upload SDK gives you everything you need to build fast, reliable video uploads, without reinventing the wheel. With support for iOS, Android, and Web, it brings consistency across platforms while handling the hard parts like chunking, retries, background uploads, and progress tracking.
Whether you’re building a content app, a fitness platform, or a social product, FastPix helps you ship a seamless upload experience that’s ready for production and scale.
Explore the Upload SDKs and start building. And if you want to try FastPix first. Sign up and get $25 in free credit. Or if have questions or a unique use case talk to us and our team’s happy to help.
The integration process is straightforward and often uses Swift Package Manager or CocoaPods. For FastPix, you simply add the GitHub URL (https://github.com/FastPix/iOS-Uploads) as an SPM dependency, import fp_swift_upload_sdk, and you’re ready to start uploading .
Yes. Compressing or trimming video client-side reduces upload time, bandwidth usage, and memory overhead. Cloudinary’s iOS SDK provides built-in preprocessing tools for trimming, compressing, and format validation, best practice advice echoed in the community.
Developers often complement upload SDKs with streaming, playback, or casting SDKs. Popular entries include Cloudinary for media asset management, ijkplayer, Google Cast, YouTube Player, JW Player, and Vimeo Player. These help round out a full-featured video experience from capture and upload to playback and sharing.
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