Having Instagram on the iPad may seem impossible. It is enough to take a look at the app store to verify that it does not appear. However, the app developed by Meta (Facebook) is not only operational on iOS and Android, but can also be downloaded for Apple tablets. And no, this is not some strange method of downloading unreliable files, but there is a legal method for downloading them, it’s just hidden.
And we want first of all to clarify that last point because of the controversy it generates. And it is that, in systems like Android, it is possible to install apps with the “apk” extension from the Internet browser. The downside of these is that they are often unreliable and even illegal. However, in iOS and iPadOS this is not possible due to limitations implemented by Apple. The only method is from the app Store and this will be how this version will be installed.
Installation of Instagram on iPad
As we said at the beginning, if you search for “Instagram” in the App Store on your iPad, you will surely come face to face with nothing. You may find some tools associated with it or with the same name, but not the official one. However, calm down because it has a trick.
How to download it
Instagram is downloadable from Apple’s own application store, only when you have done the search you will have to look at the part where it says ” filters “. Once you locate it, click on it, since different options will appear, now you have to click on ” Compatibility “. Once you do, you must select ” iPhone Only “.
In this way, you will be allowing the iPad to locate not only the apps designed for it, but also those that, despite being made for the iPhone, can also work on iPadOS. Instagram, of course, is one of them. The installation process will be the same as with any other and in a few seconds you will have the app ready on your tablet.
In fact, the version you download will be the same as the one on the iPhone. With each update of the iOS app it will also appear on your iPad like any other. And it is that, on a technical level, it is as if Instagram thought that your iPad is actually an iPhone.
Main drawbacks
Once you have downloaded the application you will see that it is fully functional , having an interface identical to that of Instagram on iPhone. And that is precisely where the drawbacks of the application on iPad lie: in that it is too identical to the iPhone because, as we said, in the end it is still the same version of iOS, only on the big screen.
First of all, regardless of the iPad model you have, the application does not occupy the entire screen , leaving some black frames that can be quite strange to look at. Although, yes, it allows you to see it in two ways: one without zoom in small format and another with a closer zoom, but making the quality of the content lower than usual.
On the other hand, the app can only be used vertically just like the iPhone. You can rotate the tablet as much as you want so that, no matter how much it is being detected that it is used horizontally, the application will remain motionless, forcing you to turn your head or, as is more logical, to turn the screen back. Therefore, we see that much is lost with respect to what could be a properly thought out and designed Instagram app for iPads.
Why isn’t Instagram on iPadOS?
At this point and after having seen the particularities of this app, you are surely asking yourself that question. It is not for less if we take into account that it is one of the most used social networks in the world and which generates millions and millions of euros of income each year for its parent company, Meta.
Meta official explanation
When Instagram was originally created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in 2010, it was a mobile-only app. However, 2 years later it was acquired by what was then called Facebook (now Meta) and with this it was believed that the application could broaden horizons and, among other things, officially reach Apple tablets. None of that happened, having only the possibility of forcing a certain compatibility with the method explained above.
Officially they have never extended too much in giving explanations about it and it is that, despite the fact that users claim it, those who have the opportunity to ask do not do so. What is relevant is that the CEO of the app, Adam Mosseri, made some statements in 2020 in which he gave an absurd explanation: development costs are high.
Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram
And we say that it is absurd because Meta is one of the companies with the highest level of income in the world, categorized as one of the big five along with Apple, Google, Amazon and Alphabet (Google). Therefore, listening to the person in charge of one of their apps make an excuse for the cost of an investment seems strange to say the least. And we emphasize the investment because, according to the market share of the iPad, there would be millions of users who would download it.
Development plans
Despite the excuses made by its CEO, it has been known by sources close to Meta that the company does not rule out the future creation of an application made one hundred percent for the iPad. It sounds contradictory based on the above, but even Mosseri himself dropped it in interventions such as the one we have cited above.
Meta has several open fronts in the Apple ecosystem, such as those related to WhatsApp , another of its star apps. The company has on the horizon the goal of integrating the messaging app on both the iPad and the Apple Watch. And taking into account that they rarely carry parallel developments, despite the fact that they have that capacity, it is possible that they prioritize this other before Instagram.
And in a way, as controversial as it is, it can make sense. Keep in mind that although Instagram is an application that is also very focused on enjoying other people’s content, it tries to maximize its own creation. And knowing that iPads are not exactly the best devices for creating temporary content like Stories (both for quality and convenience), we can understand the position that it remains exclusively mobile.
Be that as it may, and although we would love to say otherwise, there are no dates set and we cannot even make an approximation. Instagram will come to the iPad one day or so they make us think, but it does not seem to be in the short term. In any case, if there is new information about it, in this same post you can find the updated information.
There are more similar cases
Although the reasons that lead each developer to implement or not an app for iPad are very different and cannot be compared, the truth is that the installation method is not unique to Instagram. Although most “big” and “popular” apps have versions for both, there are others that, due to lack of development, allow the integration of the iOS version with the same limitations as the Meta version.
All this is due to the fact that in the end the architecture of the iPhone and iPad chip is shared, in the same way that their respective operating systems are identical in base, despite their functional differences. And something similar also happens in Macs with Apple Silicon chips, which also have the same architecture, allowing versions of iOS apps, but also with visual limitations and without 100% adaptation to macOS.
