ROSÉ could have used almost any camera she wanted.
She is one of the biggest K-pop stars in the world, and her music videos can involve major directors, large crews and expensive production.
But for her new single “new trick,” she did something unexpected.
The entire music video was shot on an iPhone 18 Pro.
So why would ROSÉ shoot a major music video on a phone?
The answer is more interesting than simply “because Apple sponsored it.”
Yes, the Apple Collaboration Is Real
First, the obvious part.
“new trick” was created in collaboration with Apple’s Shot on iPhone campaign, and the video was filmed entirely using the iPhone 18 Pro.
It was directed by Dave Meyers, the veteran music-video director who has worked with artists including Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar and Ariana Grande.
Apple says the phone’s 48MP main camera and new variable-aperture system were used to capture low-light footage and create depth of field.
But there is an important distinction.
Shot on an iPhone does not mean someone simply pulled a phone out of a pocket and pressed record.
A professional production can still use lighting, stabilization equipment, sets, a full crew and extensive editing.
The unusual part is that the device actually capturing the footage was the iPhone.
Why ROSÉ?
This is where the collaboration starts making more sense.
Apple has used major musicians in Shot on iPhone projects before, including Lady Gaga, The Weeknd and Olivia Rodrigo.
ROSÉ fits naturally into that group.
She isn’t only a BLACKPINK member anymore.
Her solo career has increasingly positioned her between K-pop and global pop.
That gives Apple something valuable.
ROSÉ can reach K-pop fans, mainstream pop listeners and younger audiences interested in fashion and visual culture at the same time.
And Apple gives ROSÉ something valuable too:
a music video with an instant story attached to it.
Instead of simply asking,
“Have you heard ROSÉ’s new song?”
people also ask:
“Wait — was that really filmed on an iPhone?”
That curiosity becomes promotion for both the song and the phone.
“New Trick” Was a Good Song for This Experiment
The song itself also matters.
According to The Black Label, “new trick” is an energetic garage-punk track about overcoming life’s wounds and romantic hardship and finding a new way to move forward.
It also marks a tonal change from much of ROSÉ’s earlier solo material.
Rather than remaining inside the introspective sadness associated with parts of rosie, “new trick” is brighter, more playful and more energetic.
That makes the title almost perfect for the collaboration.
A new song.
A different mood.
A different visual approach.
A literal “new trick.”
The Video Still Looks Like a Real Music Video
This may actually be the most important part of Apple’s strategy.
If the video looked obviously like amateur smartphone footage, the campaign wouldn’t be nearly as effective.
Instead, Dave Meyers built a colorful, nostalgic visual world around ROSÉ, including youthful styling, a vintage car, band-performance scenes and an early-2000s pop-rock atmosphere.
So viewers first see a polished ROSÉ music video.
Then they learn:
This was shot on a phone.
That reversal is what makes the campaign work.
Apple doesn’t need to tell viewers that the camera is powerful.
The company wants the video itself to make people ask how a phone produced those images.
But Could an Ordinary Person Make the Same Video?
Not exactly.
And this is worth saying.
Buying an iPhone 18 Pro will not suddenly turn someone’s bedroom video into a Dave Meyers production.
Professional cinematography is much more than a camera.
Lighting matters.
Composition matters.
Production design matters.
Camera movement matters.
Editing matters.
And, most importantly, the people behind the camera matter.
So “shot entirely on iPhone” demonstrates what the device can capture inside a professional production environment. It doesn’t mean the phone alone created the final result.
That distinction actually makes the project more interesting, not less.
ROSÉ and Apple Were Selling the Same Idea
Look at what both sides needed.
Apple wanted to say:
You don’t need a traditional cinema camera to capture cinematic-looking footage.
ROSÉ’s new song says something surprisingly compatible:
When life changes, find a new way forward.
Different product.
Different purpose.
But almost the same concept.
Try something new.
That’s why shooting “new trick” on the iPhone 18 Pro doesn’t feel completely random.
It turns the title of the song into part of the marketing idea itself.
Maybe the Phone Is Part of the Music Video’s Story
There will naturally be debate over whether celebrity technology collaborations are art, advertising, or both.
In this case, the simplest answer may be:
both.
ROSÉ gets a distinctive visual concept for a new single.
Apple gets one of the world’s most recognizable K-pop stars demonstrating its newest camera.
And viewers get something to argue about:
Can a phone really replace a professional movie camera?
Maybe that’s the smartest part of the entire campaign.
The iPhone isn’t just the camera behind “new trick.”
The fact that an iPhone was the camera became part of the reason people wanted to watch it.