Instagram for iPad – FINALLY – just 15 years after the launch of the first iPad

Even in App development terms, 15 years is a very, very long time – but today, after just 15 years Instagram is available for iPad.

Until now, loading Instagram on your iPad gave you a small iPhone sized window in the middle of the huge iPad screen. Today, the app for iPad has been designed from the ground up for the iPad experience.

Instead of seeing photos and “Feed” content, you’ll open right into reels with Instagram believing that the instant access to entertaining content is what people want.

At the top of screen are your regular contacts and Stories, while the navigation to other areas of the app is on the left hand side of the screen.

If you are looking for content from those you follow, the new “Following” tab might just be the ideal solution for old-school instagrammers, with a “Latest” option showing you a Chronological feed of posts and reels from accounts you follow, most recent posts first.

Then there’s “Friends” which are recommended posts and reels from accounts you follow and that follow you back, and “All” which is accounts you follow.

Messaging has been re-designed for a full-screen experience and when you rotate to a landscape mode you can see a really great side by side desktop style view of your inbox.

Likewise, when scrolling a feed, you can use Landscape mode to see comments instantly next to every reel.

Instagram for iPad supports iPadOS 26’s windowing system, as well as support for Keyboard and Trackpad and Apple Pencil.

You can use Instagram for iPad on any iPad that supports iPad OS 15.1 and newer.