After 15 years, Instagram has finally released a native app for the iPad, bringing a redesigned experience to the tablet. This marks a major shift for the company, which previously stated that the iPad market wasn’t a priority for development.
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The new iPad app takes full advantage of the larger screen with a number of key changes:
- Reels-First Feed: The app opens directly into a feed of Reels, reflecting the platform’s focus on video content.
- Chronological Option: The app reintroduces a chronological feed option, allowing users to organize posts and Reels by recency, a departure from the algorithm-based feed that has dominated social media for years.
- Redesigned Interface: The interface is optimized for the iPad’s screen real estate. For instance, comments on Reels appear directly next to the videos, and the direct messages (DM) page displays the inbox and the current chat side-by-side, similar to a web client.
This launch is a surprising change of pace, given that Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, said just two years ago that the iPad user base wasn’t a “big enough group of people to be a priority.”
