How to Rent Movies Directly on the iPhone
To rent a movie directly on the iPhone, you’ll need to be connected to a WiFi network. Once connected, follow the steps below.
1. Open the iTunes app and click on the videos tab at the bottom:
2. Browse or search through the selections. Tap one to select it, then tap Rent:
3. The button will turn green. Tap it again to confirm, then enter your iTunes store password to confirm the purchase.
Once it finished download, launch the iPod app on the iPhone. You’ll find the movies under the Videos tab.
How to Rent Movies in iTunes and Move Them to the iPhone:
1. In iTunes, select iTunes Store in the left sidebar:
2. Select the Movies category in the top left:
3. Browse through the movies and find one to rent. Not all movies are available for rent, but most new releases are.
4. Click the Rent Movie button:
When you have completed the purchase, the movie will begin downloading. Depending on your connection, it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours to download. Once it has finished downloading, it’s time to transfer it to the iPhone.
Transferring Movie Rentals to the iPhone
1. Connect your iPhone to the computer:
2. In iTunes, click on your iPhone in the left sidebar:
3. Check your iPhone’s available memory in the Summary tab. Make sure you have enough free space for the movie. A typical movie is about 1.5 gigabytes in size:
Note: To clear some memory, click on the other tabs (Music, Photos, Podcasts, Video, etc) and begin unchecking checkboxes to clear up space.
4. Click the Video tab:
5. Your rented movie should now show in a box in the lefthand side. Click the Move button net to your movie.
6. Now the movie rental has moved into the box on the righthand side, indicating it will transfer to the iPhone upon the next sync:
7. Click the Apply button in the bottom right corner (note that this step requires an Internet connection, as iTunes will attempt to authorize the movie usings its servers):
And your finished. Your movie rental should be ready to watch on your iPhone. It can found on your iPhone in the iPod app under the Videos category. Before you watch it, there are some important things to keep in mind:
Notes
30 days to start, 24 hours to finish
You have 30 days to start watching a movie rental, and once you start, you have 24 hours to finish it. There is, however, a workaround for the 24 hours. If you pause a movie and don’t quit the iPod app, you can extend that rental period past 24 hours (you can, however, put the iPhone to sleep by pressing the lock button on the top, just don’t quit the iPod app).
iPhone Battery Life While Watching Video
According the Apple, the iPhone’s battery will last up to 7 hours while watching video. Some third-party tests, like this one from CNET, have shown much shorter times. Be aware that playing video is one of the fastest drains on the iPhone’s battery.
Check out all our posts on iPhone Basics.
Thank you very much for this useful explanation, I couldnt find a good tutorial for this that worked but this one saved me hours of pain.