This article was published on August 7, 2013

Instagram brings video to Ice Cream Sandwich users, lets you import videos from your library


Instagram brings video to Ice Cream Sandwich users, lets you import videos from your library

Instagram has just been updated to version 4.1 — the first major release since video landed in the Facebook-owned photo-sharing app.

With this update, users can now import video from their library, and iOS users can take advantage of a photo straightening feature. The most important change, however, is that users of Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich are finally able to share videos. Considering that ICS currently amounts to a whopping 22.5% of all Android users, this was a significant segment to leave unsupported.

The new ability to import video from your smartphone’s library — rather than having to record content within the app — contrasts Twitter-owned competitor Vine. For many, the absence of video import was quite frustrating, and this is a welcome change. It also means that videos can now be heavily edited pre-import, which will likely result in more commercials and other professionally-produced content on the service.

Screen Shot 2013-08-07 at 3.17.21 PM

This update is rolling out now on iOS and Android. That photo straightening is absent on Android is a bit disappointing, but that’s not by any means a key feature for the app.

➤ Instagram: iOS | Android

Image credit: AFP/Getty Images

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