Instagram Reels, the short-form video feed and main TikTok competitor, is one of the most popular parts of Instagram. But as with TikTok, you’re mostly limited to using it on your phone. That’s now changing, as Instagram is bringing the app to Fire TV devices, with Instagram for TV starting Tuesday.
“We’re committed to keep pushing the boundaries of entertainment on customers’ biggest screens — the Instagram team has built an awesome experience, and we’re excited to be the first place to offer it,” said Aidan Marcuss, vice president of Fire TV, in a press release. “We can’t wait to see what customers think.”
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The app on Fire TV should function similarly to the mobile version. You get short-form video content on the TV screen, complete with the portrait video with black bars on the side. Reels are organized into channels tuned to your interests, including music drops, sports highlights, travel gems and trending topics.
You can also log into the app to search for creators and explore profiles, as well as like Reels, read comments and leave reactions. We don’t yet know if the TV app will eventually be optimized for the big screen.
This isn’t the first time a company has brought a short-form video app to TVs. The infamous Quibi was a mobile-first streaming app that rolled out just before the pandemic hit in full force. The company attempted to make it work by bringing its content to TV, including Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. But even that didn’t prove sufficient, and the app shut down after a short-lived run. It remains to be seen how many people will choose to watch Instagram on TV instead of on their phones.
Which Fire TV devices will it work on?
Instagram for TV will bring Reels to your Fire TV screen with channels organized according to your interests, the same as the app.
The Instagram for TV app can be installed on your Fire TV for US customers via the Amazon App Store. It’s available on the Fire TV Stick HD, Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, Fire TV Stick 4K Max (1st and 2nd Gen), Fire TV 2-Series, Fire TV 4-Series and Fire TV Omni QLED Series.
