Instagram wants to make sure videos and photographs are treated equally on the social media platform. That doesn’t mean scaling back on the videos so the service looks less like TikTok. It means supporting taller images, so the photo side looks more like TikTok.
Images taller than the current 8:10 aspect ratio are already possible, but they have to be shared as a Story. These can be retained, provided they’re saved as a highlight, but Insta’s planning to make length more… normal.
Instagram’s tall tale
The platform will soon allow ‘grammers to post photos with a 9:16 aspect ratio to their feeds. According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri’s weekly Q&A, the company will test a new feed in “…a week or two”.
Mosseri said, “You can have tall videos, but you cannot have tall photos on Instagram. So we thought maybe we should make sure that we treat both equally.”
Instagram’s latest test follows its poorly-received full-screen layout, which was postponed following backlash from users. Users fond of the photo-centric aspects of the app were particularly vocal in their opposition. The social network has stepped back from the design for now, but it’s only a matter of time before Meta’s take on TikTok returns.
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Instagram also recently launched Dual, a dual camera mode that lets users capture content and their reaction to it using a phone’s front and back sensors simultaneously. It hasn’t turned up in South Africa yet, but there’s loads of content using the feature.
Once you receive the update, you will find it under the drop-down menu in Reels. Tap the down arrow to bring up all of the options and select the camera icon marked Dual. Then, record a Reel as normal, edit and post.
Source: Engadget