After 15 years of existence, Instagram is launching a separate version of its app for iPadOS. The company said that users have long requested a special version of Instagram for iPad, but the developers have only now "found the time" to adapt the app for Apple tablets.
Previously, you could run the Instagram app for iPhone on the iPad, but it wasn't adapted for the large screen.
The new app supports all the main features of the service: news feed, stories, and messaging. After launching the app, the user is immediately taken to the Reels section with short videos optimized for viewing on a large screen. Stories are located at the top of the interface, and messages are accessed with one tap.
The new version features a "Subscriptions" tab that allows you to switch between three content display modes:
"All" — recommended posts and Reels from all accounts the user is subscribed to;
"Friends" — recommended posts and Reels from accounts to which the user is subscribed and which are subscribed in return;
"Recent" — posts and Reels from subscribed accounts in chronological order, with newer entries displayed first.
The user can change the display order of these tabs to personalize the content they want.
The iPad version of Instagram supports a multi-column view when browsing content, which reduces the number of taps required compared to the iPhone app. Optimized for the large screen, comments are displayed on the side when viewing Reels, and in the messages section, you can see the list of chats and the content of the selected conversation at the same time.
The app is now available for download in the App Store and is available for all iPad models with iOS 15.1 or later.