Instagram for iPad Finally Arrives – But It’s All About Reels

Instagram has finally delivered what many iPad users have been demanding for over a decade: a native app designed specifically for Apple’s larger screen. But while this long-awaited move might sound like a long-overdue victory for tablet owners, the reality is more complicated. Meta, Instagram’s parent company, isn’t simply giving users a better browsing experience; it’s sending a message about where the future of the platform lies – and that future is all about video.

Unlike the iPhone version, which traditionally opens to your photo and video feed, the new iPad app is unapologetically video-first.

When you launch it, you’re taken straight into Reels, Meta’s flagship TikTok competitor. While the usual Instagram staples – your feed, Stories, and private DMs – are still there and accessible through tabs, the priority is clear: Instagram sees the iPad as a device for video consumption, not just casual scrolling.

This shift shouldn’t come as a surprise. TikTok has long dominated the tablet experience with its polished full-screen viewing, and Meta has been scrambling to catch up. For years, Instagram’s official reasoning for ignoring iPad users was a mix of technical excuses and claims that the demand simply wasn’t high enough. That explanation always rang hollow, considering Meta’s resources. The real motivation seems obvious now: until Reels became a serious growth engine, Meta didn’t see value in optimizing for iPads. With Reels now accounting for around 50% of the time people spend on Instagram, the company needed a bigger, more immersive canvas.

It’s easy to view the release as Meta finally throwing a bone to long-neglected iPad fans, but in reality, this is less of a gift and more of a strategic maneuver in the ongoing video wars. By defaulting to Reels, Meta is trying to hook iPad users into endless vertical swiping, replicating the TikTok effect. The larger display of the iPad doesn’t just make the experience more comfortable – it gives advertisers and creators a more powerful way to grab attention.

From a business standpoint, the timing makes sense. The tablet market has seen renewed energy thanks to Apple’s steady iPad updates, and Meta knows it can no longer ignore a user base that blends leisure and productivity on a single device. For casual users, the app may finally remove the awkwardness of stretching the iPhone app to fit a 10-inch screen. For creators, it opens a new opportunity to showcase their work in a format that feels more cinematic.

Still, it’s hard not to feel a twinge of frustration at how long this took. Instagram could have shipped an iPad version years ago, but only when the numbers justified it – when Reels turned into the centerpiece of the app – did Meta decide to act. It’s a sharp reminder that decisions at big tech companies are rarely about user goodwill and almost always about strategy and monetization.

The Instagram iPad app is available for download starting today, and while it may not satisfy those hoping for a photo-first experience, it’s undoubtedly a milestone. Whether this bold, video-centric design succeeds in turning the iPad into a primary Instagram device will depend on how well users embrace the Reels-first approach. One thing is certain: Meta has no intention of letting TikTok own the big screen uncontested.

And for those with nostalgia for tech history, Meta’s timing coincides with another celebration of gadget culture: the upcoming release of “Iconic Phones,” a richly illustrated book highlighting more than 20 of the most memorable phones from the past two decades. It’s a reminder that while platforms like Instagram evolve to fit the times, the hardware that brought us here still holds a special place in tech history.