Instagram Eventually Launches an iPad Version of the App

After years of requests from users, Instagram has eventually launched a dedicated app for the iPad, providing Apple tablet users with an optimized experience.

After years of user requests, Instagram has finally launched a dedicated iPad app, built especially to make the most of the larger tablet screen. This would be a big step forward in the Instagram experience for iPad users.

As shown in this example, the new Instagram app for iPad is optimized for the larger display, offering full functionality tailored to the device.

Experience for the Bigger Screen

Instagram for iPad, rather than just scaling up the phone app, offers custom-designed interfaces and unique experiences for the larger tablet screen. From the app, users are immediately taken to the Reels feed, another reminder of TikTok’s success and a highlight of video-over-photo engagement.

As explained by Instagram:

“Instagram has always been the place where people connect over creativity, and Reels has become a primary way people discover and share entertaining content. With Instagram for iPad, we’ve redesigned the experience to reflect how people use bigger screens today – for lean back entertainment. Now, when you open the app, you’ll drop into Reels, so you can get the entertaining content you love on a bigger screen.”

Instagram says this decision reflects modern user usage because:

• Reels are the main focus, a response to a recent Meta report that found overall video watch time on Instagram was up 20% year over year.
• Today, Reels clock 50% of total time on IG, validating that central position.

That makes the Reels-first approach a sensible one, particularly when you consider the increasing focus on video consumption.

Additional Features and Layout Improvements

Instagram for iPad also features a “Following” tab, which helps users discover more content from the accounts they follow in a more convenient way.

The app offers new UI flows, specifically designed for the size of the iPad screen, offering a more visually interactive experience.

“We’ve made it easier to catch up on your messages and notifications with layouts that display both tabs. When you watch reels, you can expand the comments while the reel stays at full size, making it easy to catch up on the best reactions without missing a moment.”

In essence, this is a custom-formatted version of Instagram, designed to deliver a better experience for iPad users.

Potential Future and Availability

The launch on the iPad may be something of a testing ground for larger updates, most notably the transition to Reels being prioritized first. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if Instagram ends up taking this approach universally.

It remains to be seen if Instagram will eventually go all-in with this format across all platforms in response to the growing trend of short-form video.

Instagram for iPad is now available worldwide on devices with iPadOS 15.1 and later. Meta has also unveiled that there are plans to eventually port this optimized tablet format to Android devices as well.

Final Thoughts

The launch is indicative of Instagram’s ongoing effort to iterate on its user interface and how content is distributed, as user behavior and content consumption habits evolve with growing mobile device penetration.