Hundreds of millions of iPad users are still no closer to getting an app from Meta subsidiary Instagram that works well on their devices.
The news comes directly from Instagram Head, Adam Mosseri, who explains in a recent tweet that his team is too “heads down” on other things and that, despite receiving numerous requests, there simply aren’t enough users out there to justify the development of a dedicated iPad app.
Despite its excellent display capabilities, the iPad has never had its own Instagram app. While the iPhone version of the app does work on the iPad, it’s really not a great experience as it displays a low-quality scaled-up version of the interface.
Furthermore, Instagram doesn’t support iPadOS 15’s multitasking features, such as Slide Over windows. If you’re using your iPad in landscape mode, the app will run in a small vertical strip, wasting huge amounts of screen space on either side.
MacDailyNews Take: In September 2020, on the occasion of iPad turning 10, Asymco’s Horace Dediu estimated that, with over 500 million iPads having been sold at that date, the iPad user base at “around 400 million.”
It’s hardly surprising, given its awful parentage, that Instagram comes off as a bunch of lazy, mismanaged idiots.
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It’s fine, the way it is now. I use Instagram on my iPad Pro (10.5-inch). It looks like a huge iPhone screen. It does not appear “low-quality” or “scaled-up.” Photos get converted to (at best) 1080×1920 by Instagram. Display quality may be lower for small-screen devices, compared to how it looks on my iPad. There is “wasted space” along the sides (because iPad screens are proportionally wider), but it’s important to maintain consistent (smartphone) user experience for Instagram. It’s not like FaceBook or other apps, where the layout can be different AND better for iPad. For me, it would be strange (not better) if Instagram’s screen layout was different between my iPhone and iPad. It’s because the focus of Instagram is to show visual creativity, not information, and the app layout affects user experience. When watching widescreen movie on iPad, no one complains that there are large black bars above and below movie. The visual experience needs to be the same on all devices. For Instagram, it’s like that…
Zuck resisted an iPad app for Facebook too, because it technically wasn’t a mobile device. He figured the browser version was more appropriate.
Though I guess Insta is more app-centric, so maybe it’s less justifiable in this case.
Yes, and FaceBook started out on “desktop” computer as a website and grew as an app on mobile. Same with YouTube. Instagram has always been a mobile app experience. It would look and feel weird to me as anything but a mobile (smartphone) app. For example, the web browser Instagram website is terrible.