After a few years, and plenty of person requests, Instagram has lastly launched a devoted iPad model of the app, constructed for the larger iPad display screen.

As you’ll be able to see on this instance, the brand new Instagram for iPad app is particularly formatted for the bigger display screen, enabling full IG performance on the system.
And it’s not only a ported model of the common IG app, Instagram has additionally added a spread of iPad-specific functionalities and processes, which it hopes will assist iPad customers maximize their use of the app within the larger format.
First off, the IG for iPad app opens to the Reels feed, much like TikTok.
As defined by Instagram:
“Instagram has all the time been the place the place individuals join over creativity, and Reels has turn out to be a main method individuals uncover and share entertaining content material. With Instagram for iPad, we’ve redesigned the expertise to replicate how individuals use larger screens in the present day – for lean again leisure. Now, once you open the app, you’ll drop into Reels, so you may get the entertaining content material you like on a much bigger display screen.”
So whereas all of the common functionalities of IG are additionally obtainable, together with Tales alongside the highest if the display screen, Reels would be the predominant focus of the app.
Which is sensible. Increasingly more individuals are actually spending extra time watching Reels within the app. Certainly, final month, Meta reported that general video watch time on IG is up 20% year-over-year, whereas, in April, it additionally reported that Reels now make up 50% of all time spent on IG.
So most Instagram customers are spending an rising period of time watching Reels, and as such, it is sensible for Instagram to at the least experiment with opening to a Reels feed as a part of this new mission.
Instagram’s additionally added a brand new “Following” tab within the iPad app, supplying you with extra methods to view content material.

Whereas it’s additionally constructed new customized UI flows for the bigger iPad display screen:
“We’ve made it simpler to make amends for your messages and notifications with layouts that show each tabs. While you watch reels, you’ll be able to increase the feedback whereas the reel stays at full measurement, making it straightforward to make amends for the very best reactions with out lacking a second.”

So, customized formatting for what’s basically a brand new model of IG, which ought to make the iPad crowd completely satisfied.
And it’ll be attention-grabbing to see how opening to Reels is adopted by iPad customers, as a result of I think, at some stage, Instagram goes to modify to this expertise for all variations of the app.
Instagram for iPad is rolling out globally on iPad fashions that assist iPadOS 15.1 and later. IG says that the brand new pill design will even be coming to Android units quickly.
Andrew Hutchinson