A WhatsApp iPad app is nice, but Instagram’s tablet absence still defies logic

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After years of hemming and hawing, Meta has finally delivered a WhatsApp app for iPad. Great. Lovely. Mazel tov. It’s smooth, it syncs, and it doesn’t make you feel like you’re texting from a glorified magnifying glass anymore.

But now that Meta has cracked open the iPad door, the real question isn’t about messaging — it’s about the elephant not in the room: Where is the Instagram app for iPad?

Instagram has been around since 2010. The iPad? Also 2010. In the fifteen years since, Apple has sold hundreds of millions of iPads. Meta, meanwhile, has turned Instagram into a cornerstone of modern culture — home to influencers, shopping, Reels, and Gen Z’s favourite aesthetic. Yet for all the platform’s evolution, there’s still no native iPad experience. Users are stuck with the iPhone app running in compatibility mode or a web version that feels like a compromise.

So what gives?

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri once tried to explain the absence, saying: “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.” Translation: “We see your iPads. We just don’t care enough yet.”

Meta’s official stance has always been some version of: “We’d love to, but there just aren’t enough people asking for it.” But that reasoning hasn’t aged well — especially as the iPad has matured into a powerful platform for creators, artists, and multitaskers. In fact, it’s precisely the kind of device where Instagram’s photo and video-forward features could shine. Imagine a full-screen Reel experience, multi-pane content editing, or even the ability to manage Stories and DMs side by side. That’s not a luxury — that’s table stakes in the era of content creation.

To be fair, the iPad user base may not outnumber iPhones, but it’s no niche club either. And it’s packed with photographers, artists, video editors, and creators — you know, the kind of people who keep Instagram relevant. These users are editing 4K Reels on Final Cut, sketching merch ideas on Procreate, and managing social campaigns with the same device Mosseri says isn’t a “priority.” That’s like a restaurant refusing to serve dessert because “not everyone eats cake.”

Meanwhile, Apple has heavily optimised iPadOS for productivity and multitasking, and even rolled out pro accessories like the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil. Other social apps — TikTok, Pinterest, and even Threads (Meta’s own spin-off) — offer much more polished tablet experiences. Instagram, oddly, feels stuck in the past.

There are likely business reasons behind the delay. Maybe Meta doesn’t see the ROI in building and maintaining a separate app for a platform that’s still smaller than iPhone. Or perhaps it fears people will post less when they’re on a “lean-back” device like an iPad. But those arguments are increasingly unconvincing.

Recent rumours have suggested that an iPad app for Instagram is in the works. In April 2025, a report by The Information revealed that Meta is indeed working on to launch an Instagram app for iPad. High time, no?

Look, WhatsApp for iPad is a step in the right direction. But it also exposes just how oddly stubborn Instagram’s absence has been. Now it’s time for Meta to take the next logical one.