Meta officially launches Instagram app for iPad after nearly 15 years of waiting

As the saying goes, 'better late than never', and this is now true for Meta-owned social media platform Instagram. After nearly 15 years since its inception, the Instagram app for iPad has finally arrived.

Instagram was founded in October 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger as a photo-sharing app, and was later acquired by Meta (then Facebook). Over time, Instagram has become available on most popular platforms, including Windows, Android, iOS, Fire OS, and web browsers.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Meta was 'actively testing' an iPad version. However, it took so many years to launch a native iPad app, especially since Instagram was originally an iPhone app.

' We're excited to announce Instagram is officially coming to iPad. People have been asking for this for a long time, and we've spent time designing an experience that's optimized for the larger screen ,' Meta shared in a post introducing the app.

Instagram for iPad is designed to be a 'fun and relaxing' experience and make the most of the screen space on a tablet. The app is also seen by Meta as a new platform to promote the short video format Reels, because right on the home page, users will see the Reels feed appear below Stories.

Similar to the desktop web version, Instagram on iPad displays messages and notifications in split-screen mode, allowing users to access more features with fewer steps. When watching Reels, comments appear on the right, and thanks to the larger screen, users can expand the comment area while still watching the video.

The app also features a Following tab, which lets you switch between multiple feeds:

1. Latest : See content from accounts you follow in chronological order.

2. Friends : Shows suggested posts from accounts that follow you.

3. All : Includes posts and Reels from all accounts you follow.

Meta also said that this new tablet design will be coming to the Instagram app for Android soon.

Instagram for iPad is now rolling out globally and is available on the App Store. The app supports more than 30 languages ​​and requires an iPad running iPadOS 15.1 or later.

Marvin Fry

Update 04 September 2025