Next attempt: iPad version of Instagram allegedly really in the works
Meta had already announced several times that it would finally bring its image and video service to Apple tablets. Now there is hope once again.
Instagram icon – not on an iPad.
(Image: Primakov/Shutterstock.com)
The lack of a dedicated Instagram version for the iPad can be considered a social media joke: Over the past few years, manufacturer Meta has repeatedly come up with excuses as to why the app was not available for Apple tablets. Management said that the target group was too small (although the iPad is by far the best-selling tablet) or that there were simply not enough employees in-house to take care of it (Meta is by far the most successful operator of social networks in the West). Now it seems that Meta may have mercy after all – but not out of its motivation. Instead, the dispute that has been raging for months about a possible ban on TikTok in the USA could be the reason Apple tablet users are benefiting.
Instagram wants to tap into TikTok users – also from the iPad
The Chinese video service is (of course) also available for the iPad, as is another Instagram competitor, even if it took a while: Snapchat. As The Information has now written about Meta's preparations for the end of TikTok – and the attempt to pick up unsettled TikTok users – a tablet version is allegedly also part of this. This is what an employee is said to have told the IT news service. According to the information, development is already underway.
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However, there was neither a comment from Meta nor a possible timeline for a release. It is therefore possible that the company will change its mind again. Currently, iPad users have to use Instagram in the form of the unadapted iPhone app. Although this looks okay with Stage Manager, it is an unideal situation. Some users therefore also use Instagram on the iPad in the browser, but then don't have all the functions.
Video editing program as a replacement for CapCut
In 2022, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said that the iPad was “still not attracting an audience large enough to make it a priority [for us]”. In 2023, he added that they were still not working on it. “I think that's one thing that would be good one day.” It's not technically difficult to adapt iPhone apps for the tablet.
Instagram is currently trying to recruit TikTok users. The aim is also to attract creatives – with its video tools like Edits, for example, which was also presented for iOS (but not for the iPad) this week. It is similar to CapCut from TikTok's parent company, ByteDance.
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