Why should you use Instagram on iPad?

If you ever try it Instagram on iPadyou probably immediately wanted to turn off the app and never open it again. Because the application has never been optimized for tablets, the actual experience is no different from using the mobile version but displayed on the iPad screen. The result is that the layout looks very unreasonable, the buttons are too small, and even watching Reels or Stories is very frustrating.

Finally, Instagram decided to change and launch a fully optimized version of the app for iPad after many years of waiting. You can download Instagram for iPad running iPadOS 15.1 or later and experience Instagram working better on iPad than on any other device.

The experience of viewing Reels and posts on the iPad is amazing

Watching Reels, Instagram Stories, and even scrolling through photos of friends traveling on the iPad brings a completely different experience. Everything feels much more vivid and interesting than when viewed on a phone. However, this also has a big drawback: It easily makes users fall into doomscrolling. Luckily, there are plenty of apps for iPad and iPhone designed to help you focus and minimize distractions. Therefore, this is probably not too serious a problem.

Reels are the main focus of this new experience. When you open the Instagram app on your iPad, Reels is the first thing that catches your eye. As you continue scrolling, you’ll notice that the content is mainly Reels, which is different from the familiar home screen on other platforms where you often see a mix of regular posts and Reels.

Home on iPad still shows Instagram Stories, allowing you to quickly tap to see and update news from friends, family, and the creators you love.

Instagram on iPad has a new “Following” tab

The iPad app has a new “Following” tab, which offers ways for you to see all the latest content from the people you’re following. Tab “Following“(Following) is divided into three sections: “All”, “Friends” and “Latest”.

• Different from the app’s home screen on iPad, the “Following” is not limited to Reels but also displays a combination of Reels and regular posts.
• Tab “All” shows the most relevant content from accounts you follow.
• “Friends” shows recommended content from accounts you follow and they follow you back.
• Tab “Latest” works as the name suggests, displaying posts and Reels from accounts you follow in chronological order.

By default, the tabs are arranged in this order: All > Friends > Latest. You can rearrange their position as you like.

The iPad’s large screen makes multitasking easier

Ultimately, two small features convinced users that the iPad is the best device to use Instagram at the moment. Taking advantage of the iPad’s spacious screen, Instagram has added features that make the overall experience much more convenient, while eliminating the need to constantly switch back and forth between screens.

The Direct Messages screen on iPad now lets you reply to a specific conversation while still seeing other conversations in your inbox. This means that when you receive a new message from someone, you can simply tap on that conversation and respond immediately without losing sight of other conversations.

On the phone app, you can only have one conversation at a time, making switching back and forth between conversations a bit inconvenient. Of course, this isn’t the mobile app’s fault, it simply doesn’t have enough screen space to display everything at once.

Another advantage is the ability to expand the commentary section when watching a Reel video in full screen mode without the commentary obscuring the entire video. The comments section will appear in a box next to the Reel video, allowing you to enjoy the video while scrolling through other people’s reactions. Meanwhile, on phones, the comment section often covers almost the entire video, making it less comfortable to watch Reel and read comments at the same time. While these are relatively small features, they are certainly the main reasons why the Instagram app on iPad offers a much more user-friendly and convenient experience.