Katarzyna Petru
We have another revolution in the way we consume social media. Instagram, which has dominated smartphones for years, is officially moving to the biggest screens in our homes - televisions. The platform owned by Meta has begun the global rollout of dedicated Instagram applications for Smart TV systems.
Vertical video in the living room?
The main goal of the new application is to enable users to watch the "Reels" format on their television. Interestingly, although modern televisions are widescreen (16:9), Instagram has decided to maintain the native vertical video format. This means that the recording occupies about one third of the middle part of the screen, while the remaining space on the sides is used for the interface: captions, interaction buttons, and channel names. It is worth mentioning that this solution aligns with the trend that was previously initiated by applications such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts on TV.
Samsung predicted vertical videos on TV. That's why The Sero was created
It's worth noting that the company Samsung anticipated these trends back in 2020, introducing an innovative television from the The Sero series. This is a unique model equipped with automatic motors that allow the screen to physically rotate to a vertical position. Thanks to this solution, content from Instagram can be displayed natively, taking up the entire surface of the display. What seemed like a niche experiment a few years ago is now becoming a standard.
When will Instagram be on your TV?
The rollout of the new app began with tests on Amazon Fire TV at the end of 2025, and this week the app reached Google TV users (initially in the USA). Meta announces that the service will soon be available in more countries and on other Smart TV platforms. Users can take advantage of ready-made thematic "channels" or search for content they are interested in using the search engine. This is a response to the fact that more and more people are choosing their television over their phone to watch short video content.
