In a world where people were once shunned for the horrid ‘portrait videos’ only to be one-upped by Snapchat’s efforts to make it cool again and Youtube to allow full-screen viewing of said videos on mobile devices, Instagram are currently rolling out an update to Android and iOS to allow users to upload images in any orientation they like, so no more mandatory square cropping of your images or awkward looking letterbox effects.
In a move that’s close on the heels of Instagram opening up their advertising API, advertisers using the social network are no longer limited to the, now iconic, square dimensions of old and can have any orientation of images they want to sell their brand.
They have also gone as far as to promote the update with the release of a ‘wide screen’ trailer for the upcoming Star Wars film:
Another little addition is that filters are now ‘universal’ meaning you can now use video filters on images and vice-versa.
So what do you guys think? Should they have sticked with the classic ‘instasquare’ look or are they right to change it up a bit to allow users, and more so advertisers, utilise the social network to its fullest potential? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
