Apple launches iMovie 3.0 for iPhone and iPad

Apple’s iMovie on iOS and iPadOS is typically the first software Apple users encounter when they need to stitch a few video clips together. It’s fairly easy to use, though it does require users to start with a project before adding clips and editing them, which can be slightly intimidating for absolute beginners.

With iMovie 3.0, which launched on Tuesday for iPadOS and iOS, Apple is making it a lot easier to create videos with two new major features: Storyboards and Magic Movie.

Magic Movie is the simplest way to turn your photos into video clips; all you need to do is select an album, or a group of photos from your device’s library. Magic Movie will take it from there, identifying the best parts of the footage and automagically creating a video with titles, transitions, and music. The user can then add styles to alter the look and feel of the video (there are 20 styles available at launch), and further edit it by trimming, rearranging, or deleting parts.

Storyboards are designed for slightly more advanced projects. With this feature, the user can choose between 20 templates (such as product reviews, cooking tutorials, or news reports) and start their project from there. The Storyboards come with shot lists which are further organized into groups; for example, a cooking tutorial may start with an introduction, then a few shots displaying the required ingredients, followed by the actual cooking, and then footage of the finished meal. The user can simply add their clips into the appropriate part of the Storyboard, with the option to add more shots, re-order them, or delete if needed.

As the user edits their project, a lot of things happen automatically — for example, music tracks dynamically adjust to fit the length of the project. However, the user has control over the final product and can change styles, transitions, color palettes, fonts, filters, and more.

Apple’s iMovie on Mac hasn’t received any major updates, but it will recognize projects from the new iMovie for iOS and iPadOS and let you continue working on them should you desire.

The new iMovie 3.0 is a free download for users and is available today to everyone running iOS and iPadOS 15.2 or higher.