Fifteen years after Meta first launched
Instagram, the popular photo- and video-sharing platform has introduced a native iPad app, allowing users to experience the social media network on a larger screen with a focus on Reels.
Meta says that it has designed the iPad app “to reflect how people use bigger screens today – for lean back entertainment.”
Upon opening the app, iPad users are dropped directly into Reels -- the platform’s scrollable short-form
video offering similar to TikTok, while the Stories feature remains positioned at the top of the screen.
“We wanted to take advantage of the bigger
screen to give people more features with fewer taps, while keeping it simple,” the company adds.
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When
users watch Reels, for example, they have the option to expand the comments section while the video remains full-sized.
In addition, Instagram has included iPad-specific functions. There is a new “Following” tab, which provides users with multiple ways to view the latest content from accounts
they follow.
Users can select “All,” “Friends,” or “Latest,” to influence
Instagram’s recommendation engine, either seeing recommended posts and Reels from accounts a user follows, from accounts that also follow them back, or chronological posts and Reels from
accounts they follow.
Prioritizing video content on this new app aligns with viewing habits related to iPad-use, while also facilitating an extra boost to
Instagram’s fastest growing content offering. According to Meta, overall video watch time on Instagram is up 20% year-over-year, with Reels making up 50% or more of all time spent on the
platform.
Meta may also use its iPad app launch to test user feedback on a video-first update in case the
company wants to apply it to the mobile app as well.