Back at F8 2018, Facebook announced various new features for Instagram. All these features are now a part of the Instagram app for iOS thanks to its latest update.
Table of Contents
Video chat
Video chat on Instagram will now allow live video calling for to four users. This will allow the social media platform to compete with Skype and Apple’s FaceTime.
Video chats will be accessible to everyone via Instagram Direct and will not require a phone number.
You can start a live video chat from within a conversation – just press on the camera icon and you will be good to go.
As of now, this feature is not fully functional on some devices even though the update comes loaded with it. If you are on the latest version, you will be able to use it in the next couple of days.
Redesigned Explore section
The Explore section remains largely the same except for the new “topic channels”. Channels are divided into the following topics or interests –
- For You
- Auto
- Art
- Travel
- Sports
- Movies
- Music
- Science
- Food
- Style
- Humor
Here’s what the “Auto” channel looks like for my Instagram account.
These channels will also display a list of all the popular hashtags pertaining to your interests that you can click on to browse similar content.
The “For You” channel will specifically tailor the content according to your interests and the users you tend to follow.
New Camera effects
The Camera now has several new effects and filters available, designed by the likes of Ariana Grande, Liza Koshy, Baby Ariel and organizations like Buzzfeed and NBA.
Future updates will also feature additional effects from famous celebrities and Instagram accounts.
To activate these filters, you will need to follow the accounts given above. If you happen to follow any of the aforementioned accounts, you can get the desired effect by tapping the face icon in the camera.
Alternatively, you can add any effect manually by tapping on it if you don’t wish to follow these accounts.
Did you update Instagram?
These amazing new features are only available for those running the latest version of the app.
This update is gradually being rolled out for all users. Just like every other app, iOS users will receive the update before their Android counterparts.
If your device hasn’t received the update, just wait patiently for a couple of hours and you will be able to upgrade just like other users.
Check out our Facebook and Twitter pages for more Instagram updates.
