After 15 goddamn years, Instagram is finally building a proper iPad app. Fifteen years. That's longer than it took to build the International Space Station, cure some diseases, and watch several companies get born, grow up, and die.
For over a decade, iPad users have been stuck with a blown-up iPhone app that looks like garbage on the big screen. The photos are pixelated, the interface is tiny, and the whole experience screams "we can't be bothered to build this properly."
Why Meta Gave iPad Users the Middle Finger for 15 Years
Their "mobile-first philosophy" was just corporate speak for "we can't be bothered to build a proper iPad app." Let's break down their real reasons:
- Pure laziness: Building a second app means hiring more developers and actually caring about user experience
- Data obsession: They could track mobile users better than tablet users, so they focused there
- Arrogance: Instagram thought they were so essential that users would put up with their shitty scaled app forever
- Resource allocation: Translation - "we'd rather build 47 different camera filters than one decent tablet app"
The kicker? While Instagram was twiddling their thumbs, the iPad Pro with M2 chips became more powerful than most laptops. Content creators started using iPads as their primary editing machines. Instagram's excuse became laughably outdated around 2018, but they kept using it anyway.
What We're Actually Getting (If They Don't Screw It Up)
Here's what Instagram promises vs. what we'll probably get:
Photos that don't look like shit
Finally, images that use the actual screen resolution instead of stretched iPhone pixels. Groundbreaking stuff, Meta. Only took you 15 years to figure out how screen scaling works.
Creation tools that work
Apple Pencil support for drawing on Stories, proper camera integration, and editing tools that aren't microscopic. Basically catching up to what Procreate and Adobe Fresco have done for years.
Keyboard shortcuts
Because typing DMs on a touch screen when you have a Magic Keyboard attached is peak stupidity.
Sidebar navigation
Instead of cramming everything into tiny iPhone-sized buttons at the bottom. Revolutionary.
How Badly Instagram Fucked Up
While Instagram was busy ignoring iPad users, everyone else ate their lunch:
- TikTok built a proper iPad app and stole Gen Z creators who got tired of Instagram's garbage experience
- YouTube has had desktop-class iPad features since 2012 - that's 13 years ago, Meta
- Even Twitter/X managed to keep their iPad app working through multiple ownership changes and platform implosions
- Snapchat figured out iPad support while simultaneously trying not to go bankrupt
The result? Content creators who could have been making Instagram content on iPads went to platforms that actually gave a shit about tablet users. That's years of lost revenue and creator relationships that Meta will never get back.
Why Meta Finally Caved
Three things made Meta finally build this app:
TikTok was eating their breakfast
Young creators moved to TikTok partly because it actually worked well on tablets. When you're losing your core demographic because your app looks like ass on the devices they use, even Meta executives notice.
iPad Pro became a real creative tool
The M4 iPad Pro is more powerful than most MacBooks. Ignoring creators using $1,300+ devices was becoming financially stupid.
Revenue per user on tablets is higher
iPad users spend more money. Meta's ad targeting works better on tablets, and Instagram Shopping sees higher conversion rates. Money talks, eventually.
The Real Technical "Challenges"
Instagram's acting like building an iPad app is rocket science. Bullshit. Here's what they're actually dealing with:
Interface scaling
Every other app figured this out in 2010. It's called responsive design, not nuclear physics.
Content adaptation
Photos and videos adapt to different screens automatically. This isn't a "challenge," it's basic iOS development.
Feature parity
Translation - "Should we include all the features, or just the basic ones so we can ship something and call it done?"
Performance optimization
Making sure their spaghetti code doesn't crash on older iPads. The fact that this is a "challenge" says everything about Instagram's code quality.
Real Instagram iPad Failures I've Personally Dealt With
Let me tell you about the 3 hours I lost trying to post content on iPad in iOS 16.4. Instagram's scaled iPhone app would crash every time you tried to upload a video longer than 30 seconds. The error? Just a generic "Upload failed" message.
The workaround was stupid: convert videos to specific H.264 formats using Handbrake, then upload through the desktop web version, then pray the aspect ratio didn't get fucked up. This happened consistently from March 2023 until iOS 17.0.
And don't get me started on the keyboard issues. Type a long caption on iPad with external keyboard, switch apps, come back - your text is gone. Instagram doesn't save drafts properly on iPad because they're using the iPhone text handling code that assumes you're always in the app.
I filed bug reports through Instagram's support system (mistake #1) and got automated responses about "clearing cache" and "restarting the device." Their support team clearly had no idea iPad users existed.
Bottom Line: Too Little, Too Late?
Instagram's iPad app is like getting a birthday present 15 years late. Sure, it's nice they finally remembered you exist, but where the hell was this in 2010? Or 2015? Or literally any year when it would have mattered?
They're building this app in 2025 when tablets are already being replaced by foldable phones and laptop-tablet hybrids. Classic Meta timing - always late to the party, always wondering why nobody's excited to see them.