iPad app – BIG

Instagram won’t optimize its app for the iPad anytime soon, said the social media platform’s head Adam Mosseri in a tweet over the weekend.

The message was in response to a tweet made by tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) who pointed out the absence of the app even in 2022.

Mosseri said it’s something Instagram hears a lot but the number of iPad users wanting the app isn’t large enough to justify developing it.

Oh it does, for sure, but:
1/ each surface adds overhead; we support iOS, Android, www, and IG Lite, and Android is the largest
2/ TikTok and YouTube are behemoths, people share more in messages than they do to Stories or Feed, so we need to adapt
3/ we are leaner than you think

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) February 27, 2022

Brownlee further states this group could increase if “an excellent app” existed. Mosseri agrees but says the company is “leaner than you think” and is already supporting the app on four platforms: iOS, the web, Instagram Lite, and its’s largest, Android.

Mosseri said Instagram views a dedicated app for iPad as a part of the “finally features” list. It’s a want but isn’t prioritized to be completed at this time.

Yeah, there's something there. I call these "finally features." Things like supporting dark mode, scheduled posts, an iPad app, deleting one photo from a carousel, etc.

— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) February 27, 2022

Instagram’s CEO Adam Mosseri acknowledged it’d be “nice” to have an iPad app, seemingly forgetting he’s got the power to make it happen.

In a series of Instagram Stories over the weekend, Mosseri did a little ‘ask me anything’ and answered several questions. One simple question was, “Where’s the Instagram iPad app?”

Mosseri mentions that he was using an iPad on his flight but acknowledges that there’s still no Instagram app for iPad.

“It’d be nice to do, but there’s a lot to do and only so many people, so it hasn’t made the cut.”

In the following Story, Mosseri and his wife discuss who would use Instagram on an iPad, then acknowledge that Mosseri’s mother-in-law probably would.

It’s no secret that many people would welcome Instagram on the iPad. People have iPads and I’m sure there’s a lot of crossover between Instagram users and iPad owners. Having access to Instagram’s primarily visual interface on a much larger display would be great for people with visual impairments or for those who just want to look at pictures on something larger than a phone.

To be fair, the mediocre Instagram experience on iPad will soon get better. A new feature in iPadOS 15 will let Instagram and other iPhone-only apps run in portrait mode while holding the tablet in landscape mode. That should make it much easier to multitask and have Instagram and other apps open simultaneously.

Unfortunately, that’s still not as good as an actual Instagram app on iPad. Plus, considering Instagram’s website now lets people upload content from browsers on Windows, Mac or other desktops, it’s even stranger that you can’t from the iPad, regardless if you use the app or browser.

At this point, it seems like the Instagram team just really hates the iPad.

Source: Adam Mosseri (Instagram) Via: 9to5Mac