While there is a storyboard app available for iOS on the App Store, it appears that Apple is considering a native storyboard app, according to a newly granted patent published today;  One that goes beyond iMovie for basic templates for iOS and macOS.  

Apple notes in their patent background that media content creation has become popular among a wide variety of people for a variety of different reasons. People enjoy creating media content for sharing through social media with their friends. People create media content to share ideas, teach and inform the public, and/or to make money from the created content. The popularity of content creation among the general public has led to many novice content creators attempting to create video and/or audio content without the benefit of training, education or experience with respect to how to structure and create high quality content.

Often novice content creators will put together video clips, audio clips, still images to create a movie or video but then, after reviewing the final media product, are left wondering why the quality of their final media product is not as polished as more experienced or professional media content creators.

Media Editing Using Storyboard Templates

Apple's granted patent states that in some implementations, future iPhones, iPads and Macs will be able to guide a user through creation of media content using storyboard templates.

For example, the user may invoke a media editing application on their computing device. The media editing application can be configured with a plurality of different storyboard templates to be used for the creation of different types or categories of content.

A storyboard template corresponding to a particular type of content can include suggested media segments and suggested media clips for the particular type, or topic, of content. Thus, a particular storyboard template can include suggested media segments and suggested media clips that are different from other storyboard templates. The media editing application can include features that allow the user to edit the storyboard template and/or the media content corresponding to a storyboard project created by the user.

Particular implementations provide at least the following advantages. By providing preconfigured, curated storyboard templates for a variety of content topics that guide the user through the creation of a media project, the user can more efficiently create high quality digital media products and avoid the frustration of wasting time creating a low-quality digital media product.

Additionally, storyboard templates can be used as a teaching tool that guides the user through the steps necessary to create a high-quality digital media product while reducing the amount of time it takes a novice user to learn how to create high quality digital media products.

By presenting a graphical user interface that integrates the structural elements of a curated storyboard template with the media editing tools of the media editing application, the user can intuitively and efficiently interact with the media editing application to create and/or edit a digital media project.

• Apple's patent FIG. 6 below illustrates an example graphical user interface for selecting a storyboard template;
• FIG. 7 illustrates an example graphical user interface for selecting a style to be applied to a media project;
• FIG. 8 illustrates an example graphical user interface for editing a storyboard media project;
• FIG. 11 illustrates an example graphical user interface for presenting options for modifying a user selected media clip.
• FIG. 12 illustrates an example graphical user interface for editing a media item associated with a recommended shot.
• FIG. 13 illustrates an example graphical user interface for presenting an editing shortcut when editing a media item.

• FIG. 14 above illustrates an example graphical user interface for editing the layout of a media clip;
• FIG. 21 illustrates an example graphical user interface for adding storyboard template segments to a storyboard media project.
• FIG. 26 is flow diagram of an example process for editing media using storyboard templates.

Apple's granted patent was filed for in September 2022 and granted today March 25, 2025.