Apparently not enough iPad owners are interested in using Instagram on their tablets, says Instagram head Adam Mosseri in another made-up excuse.
- Since its inception, Instagram has been dragging its feet with the iPad app
- The latest excuse: not enough people own iPads to warrant the official app
- That excuse is a white lie: Apple shipped about 51 million iPads in 2021
Here’s why there’s no native Instagram iPad app yet
Instagram head Adam Mosseri addressed some of the ongoing complaints from iPad owners who would like to know why the Meta-owned service isn’t interested in building an official iPad app that users have been clamoring for. In a Twitter exchange with YouTube creator Marques Brownlee, Mosseri argues that there still isn’t “a big enough group” of people to be “a priority” for the company.
Yup, we get this one a lot. It's still just not a big enough group of people to be a priority. Hoping to get to it at some point, but right now we're very heads down on other things.
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) February 27, 2022
In the same breath, however, he said that Instagram gets asked about a native iPad app a lot. He wouldn’t completely rule out an iPad app, saying that it could eventually arrive someday. Unfortunately, Marques didn’t press Mosseri on how many more iPad units Apple would need to shop for an Instagram iPad app to become a priority. Read: How to share longer videos to your Instagram story
The company, he said, is currently “very heads down on other things.”
iDB’s take: Stop beating around the bush and tell us the full story!
Mosseri arguments defending the company’s decision not to ship an iPad app to this date are weak. There aren’t enough iPad owners out there to warrant the investment, he said, but the latest data from Canalys shows the iPad ruled the tablet market with circa 19 million shipments in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Canalys estimates that Apple shipped more than 51 million iPad units throughout 2021. Is Mosseri saying that the vast majority of the hundreds of millions of iPad owners out there would not prefer a native Instagram experience instead of the lousy web interface at instagram.com?
Also, just a note: analyst data indicates that Apple likely shipped over 51 million iPads across all of 2021. I’m sure a pretty high percentage of those iPad users have an Instagram account and would love a way to use the social network that doesn’t involve a web app. In our opinion, the real reason why there’s no Instagram app yet is probably the ongoing rivalry between Apple and Facebook, which will undoubtedly intensify as soon as the companies release their new augmented reality gadgets. Read: 15 Instagram hacks, tips and tricks you should know about