It’s been much anticipated, but the Instagram iPad app is finally in the making, sparking discussions again on Meta’s product priorities.
More than ten years after it debuted, the announcement sounds more like a correction than disruptive innovation. This is the best time to rush for Meta, with mounting regulatory scrutiny against TikTok in the U.S.- but is this the right move for the company?
Instagram iPad App: A Basic Expectation Framed as a Strategic Pivot
Ever since its launch in 2010, Instagram’s conspicuous absence for the iPad has been one of the platform’s most mystifying oversight. While competitors developed their tablet and desktop versions ages ago, Instagram remained mobile-first. Its users were left either with a stretched iPhone version or clunky third-party alternatives.
It has been confirmed that Instagram is building a native app for the iPad. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, told staff to take ”more risks”, signaling that Meta sees this as a good opportunity to fill potential gaps in the market due to a possible TikTok ban in the United States.
At first glance, this move from Meta seems quite clever: develop for an untapped area (iPad users) when TikTok is under fire. Critics, however, say it seems far more like Meta reacting to the situation than proactively planning for it: “an Instagram iPad app isn’t an innovation; it’s a minimum viable product that should have been around years ago.”
This very recently indicates that Instagram holds its future growth to the sudden demise of TikTok. It doesn’t mean, however, that users will necessarily feel encouraged to come back to Instagram again, especially if they are fully entrenched in the culture of TikTok and have other avenues, like YouTube Shorts, or Lemon8, with fresh appeal.
A Risk That’s Not Really Risky
Mosseri’s rallying cry to “take more risks” does not seem compelling, if the boldest of those risks in 2025 would be to ship an iPad version of Instagram. Real risk would be changing Instagram’s algorithm, decentralizing content discovery, or changing the monetization formula for creators. Instead, this move is looking more and more like a strategic spin on a long-overdue response.
Industry Sentiment: Applause, Shrugs, and Eye Rolls
Responses to this announcement from the tech world have been decidedly mixed, if not entirely cynical:
- M.G. Siegler remarked, “This would have been cool in 2010; in 2015, a ‘finally’; in 2025, a boomer move.”
- Sean Hodgdon said, “Ten years back, this would have been a weekend project. I don’t know why it’s getting rolled out now.”
- Stephen Shankland said: “Wake me when IG displays photos in full-screen glory on laptops.”
For many, the release of the Instagram iPad App does not shout ‘innovation.’ Rather, it indicates that Meta was more of a follower than a leader.
Beyond the App: Can Meta Reclaim the Edge?
Meta is also looking at upgrading Instagram’s search function while also pushing meta.ai as a discovery engine. Everything feels like small steps rather than a leap forward, just like the new iPad app. The real challenge is to make Instagram culturally appealing again-especially among younger users as they turn toward new, emerging platforms.
Final Verdict: Instagram iPad App Necessary but Underwhelming
That Instagram will now release an iPad App is really happening; however, it may not work out to be the game-changer that Meta wanted. Even though it fits into a gap that has existed for some years, it is hardly likely to overcome the slumber of the users. Instead, the app represents a very reactive stance in an ecosystem characterized by lightning-fast changes and audacious reinvention.
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