Instagram Update: Photos on Instagram will be 1080p Soon
Instagram photos will now appear larger on the website.
Coming soon to all Instagram users will be the capability to post pictures that are 1,080 x 1,080 pixels in size, the company confirmed Monday, according to CNet.
Since 2010, Instagram pictures have been 640 x 640 pixels. Back then, most mobile displays were not able to display 1,080p images, but now that technology has improved, bigger pictures can be handled on mobile displays.
The Android and iOS Instagram apps will soon support picures that are 1,080 x 1,080 pixels in size, according to an Instagram spokesman on Monday. The rollout will be "gradual," the spokesman added, and it is unknown when all users will receive the update.
Instagram is extremely popular worldwide, with over 300 million active users. The app allows users to take pictures, apply creative filters and share them with friends. Instagram has been around since 2010 and Facebook noticed its popularity early, purchasing the service for $1 billion in 2012.
Instagram has limited upload sizes to 640 x 640 pixels and refused to upgrade to the larger 1,080 x 1,080 size. On Friday, The Verge reader Alejandro de la Torre received a link to an Instagram photo that was the larger 1,080 x 1,080 size. The Verge reported that these images are actually 1,080 x 1,080 pixels and not just 640 x 640 pictured that are stretched.
A known error when uploading pictures from the Android app causes the photos to be over-compressed. It is unknown whether the upgrade to higher resolution pictures will fix this issue.
Instagram will focus on the mobile application for these improved pictures and will not upgrade the desktop version.
"Right now we are focused on mobile, with no plans to share on web," the Instagram spokesman said.
Instagram's update to higher resolution pictures recognizes the much more powerful screens on today's smartphones. Most smartphones are now capable of displaying 1080p pictures, and some are capable of displaying even higher quality pictures than 1080p.
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