Instagram Makes Its Android App Faster and Prettier in Big New Update

Jason O. Gilbert
·Technology Editor

In a blog post on Wednesday, Instagram announced a sizable update to its app for Android smartphones. The update, available now in the Google Play Store, will make the app load much faster, according to the blog post, and also features a more appealing, less cluttered design.

The update also cuts the size of the app itself in half, reducing the amount of space you need to carry Instagram on your phone.

Here are some screenshots, provided by Instagram, of the new layout:

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The photo-centered social network debuted as an app for Android in April 2012, after years of availability for only the iPhone. Facebook bought Instagram for more than $1 billion that month, too.

Since then, Instagram has expanded rapidly, attempting to become a social network on the global scale of its parent company, Facebook. Building a better app for Android phones — which a vast majority of smartphone owners, especially in developing countries, use — could help boost its reach.

You can download the update to Instagram right here. Snap away, selfie photographer.

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