ARTICLE AD BOX
New Delhi: Instagram has officially expanded its TV application to the Google TV device in the US region, enabling users to watch and browse Reels on their TV screens. This rollout was confirmed by Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a post on the Threads application.
This rollout comes a few months after Instagram unveiled a similar Instagram TV experience on the Amazon Fire TV in December. With this shift, Instagram is now gradually taking its short-form video content beyond the devices and bringing it to the larger screens for a more shared viewing experience.
The Instagram application on the Google TV focuses mainly on Reels. Videos are organized into themed channels based on the users’ interests and popular topics such as sports highlights, cooking clips, travel videos, and trending content. Rather than swiping vertically on the smartphone, users can navigate using the remote control, creating a more relaxed viewing experience.
The users can also search for the creators and explore the content categories. This latest TV application also supports full audio and autoplay, similar to the mobile version of Instagram.
Along with simply watching videos, it will also enable users to like, comment, and share posts. The interface is especially designed to feel more familiar to the regular Instagram users, instead of just being stretched out from the version of the smartphone applications.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri stated that the application is currently extending to Google TV devices in the US, adding that the company is also looking further to feedback as it continues to improve the experience. And by bringing Reels to TV screens, Instagram is now competing more directly with platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, which already offer short-form videos on smart TVs.
Currently, this latest feature is limited in the US, and there is no official word on when it might expand to other countries.
English (US) ·