Instagram now supports portrait and landscape orientation

It’s no longer hip to be square on Instagram. The app doesn’t just support the square format anymore. It now supports both portrait and landscape modes. Now when uploading photos and videos, you can tap the format icon to adjust orientation to portrait or landscape instead of the square. When you share these images, they’ll appear to your followers in the full-sized version you want it to. It no longer crops out the edges if you don’t want it to. But to keep your profile looking clean, posts will appear as center-cropped square.

In this update, Instagram is also letting all filters work for both photos and videos. You can even adjust the intensity of the filters for videos, too. The update is available for both iOS and Android versions of the app.

Source: Instagram | Download: Apple App Store (Free) + Google Play Store (Free)

Photoflow for Mac is the Instagram desktop client you didn't know you needed

A heavy user of Instagram? If you're on your Mac, you might want to check out Photoflow. The app will cost you $5.79 but if you're a heavy user, that might be worth it. You get features like multiple account and stream support; wide search tools like being able to browse hashtags, locations, trends, etc.; desktop notifications for likes, comments, and new photos; mice and trackpad gesture support; and the ability to enlarge photos and videos by opening them or expanding the window. The app needs you to be running OS X Yosemite though. And no, it won't let you upload photos. No third-party Instagram client allows for that. 

Source: Lifehacker | Download: Mac App Store ($5.79) 

Instagram on Android promised to get better quality photos

Since last week, Instagram has been upping the image quality of the pictures it stores and shows to a higher 1,080 x 1,080 resolution for both Android and iOS. Now, it seems Android might be getting improved image compression so photo upload quality should also improve. According to Mike Krieger, Instagram’s co-founder, they are adding a “bunch of improvements to the image pipeline” to provide “better upload quality” for Android users.

It hasn’t exactly been explained why Android users suffer from lower quality uploads than iOS counterparts. Instagram developers have previously admitted that it’s a challenge to develop for Android with its wide variety of screen sizes. But they have never really explicitly said if that affected quality. But we’re all for better uploads, and if Instagram has that, we hope to see it soon.

Source: The Verge

Instagram introduces a new search and explore section

Instagram’s explore section isn’t exactly the most vital part of the photo-sharing app. Instagram hopes the latest update for Android iOS might change that perception. Version 7.0 of the app introduces a new explore and search section that brings rather similar features to Twitter. You get trending tags to show the most popular images up top. You also get trending place as well as a way to search for places in addition to being able to search for people and tags. You can look view all these categories at once through the “top results” shown across the service. It’ll now be easier than before to see event-related photos.

If you want to view amazing, curated images (which is a concept you’ve probably seen on VSCO), Instagram is also introducing curated collections. It’ll feature things like “interesting accounts and places, from musicians and extreme athletes to stunning architecture and gorgeous beaches.” You’ll be able to see banners for these collections at the top of the explore section. The update is rolling out first in the US. According to Instagram, “We’ll work to bring it to the rest of the world after we fine tune the experience and set it up to work well in other countries.” You just need to keep an eye out for this and it should make it to your device soon.

Source: Instagram | Via: The Verge