Instagram has finally arrived on iPad after years of user requests. The popular social media platform now has a native iPad app that is rolling out globally through the App Store, ending the long wait that stretched back to the tablet’s debut in 2010.
For more than a decade, Instagram on iPad was little more than a stretched version of the iPhone app, awkwardly filling the larger screen and offering none of the refinements that other developers introduced years ago. This left users relying on the iPhone version or the web interface, which never felt like a proper solution. Instagram head Adam Mosseri often brushed off the lack of an iPad app, citing limited resources, even as Meta’s other apps, like WhatsApp, eventually made their way to Apple’s tablet.
The new Instagram iPad app takes advantage of the larger display area and introduces a design optimized for multitasking. The most notable change is that it opens directly into Reels, showing just how central short-form video has become to the platform. Stories remain visible at the top, and navigation icons are arranged on the left side for quick access to features. The Following tab now allows users to switch between three distinct views: All, Friends, and Latest. All shows recommended content from accounts you follow, Friends highlights posts from mutual followers, and Latest offers a chronological feed that many have wanted back for years.
The iPad’s bigger screen also transforms the experience of messaging and browsing comments. Direct messages are displayed in a two-column view with your inbox on one side and open chats on the other, similar to Messenger on desktop. When viewing reels, comments can appear alongside the video without shrinking it down, making interaction far more seamless. Notifications, feeds, and navigation require fewer taps thanks to the redesigned layout.
Instagram is clearly betting big on Reels with this launch, opening the app straight into the video feed and continuing its push to compete with TikTok. It is also a recognition that tablets have become a primary entertainment device for many users, including younger audiences who often prefer iPads over phones for browsing and watching videos. While it took 15 years for Instagram to get here, the app now finally feels at home on Apple’s tablet.
The Instagram iPad app is available today on the App Store for all devices running iPadOS 15.1 or later.
