Welp, Instagram’s dropped another update that adds a colorful new logo icon and app redesign that’s basically channeling iOS 7. While it’s good to see Instagram getting on board with Apple’s modern UI design, the update does leave us scratching our heads a but about whether anything useful was added.
What’s New In Instagram May 2016 Update? Should I Download It?
The Instagram update should be immediately recognizable as the old brown camera icon we’ve come to know and love has been replaced with a kind of gradient rainbow colored icon that looks a lot like it belongs on a poster from Apple’s 2013 Developer Conference. But the thing that’s confusing users the most is that it seems all the color for the App was thrown into the icon, leaving the interior of the app stripped down to a basic black and white theme.
Instead of the black and blue options and status bar that used to be at the top and bottom of the app screen, we now get all white with basic black lettering. The tabs are now simply a black lined drawing of the old solid tab icons we’d become accustomed to. Since the redesign doesn’t change how we use the app, I don’t have any major problems with it, but not everyone feels the same.
Much in the same way long time iOS users were shocked by the flat and simplified design of iOS 7, loyal Instagram users are also feeling a bit underwhelmed by the changes.
@instagram Let me downgrade my Instagram right now! The new update is too black and white for me. #downgradeinstagram
— Levi Marshall (@Levi_STEM) May 11, 2016
It’s a bit contradictory for Instagram to have a super colorful icon and a, close to, black and white UI. pic.twitter.com/82yGZPgTdF
— Arvid Bräne ✌ ️ (@Kodagrux) May 11, 2016
Word of warning don't update Instagram it's just black and white and so so so ugly
— Laura Morrissey (@UpTheRara) May 11, 2016
@instagram latest update is terrible. The layout needs to be as colorful as the new icon please. I feel depressed seeing black and white.
— Ace (@AsianGraphics) May 11, 2016
For me the “best” change I’ve seen so far is to the search tab, as the cleaner and simpler design allows you to see a lot more results at once. Still, I’d hardly call that anything to get excited about.
I’m still basically on the fence about Instagram’s new logo as it just seems so much more generic than its predecessor, but maybe it’ll grow on me.
According to the company blog the new app logo was “ Inspired by the previous app icon,” but made to represent “a simpler camera and the rainbow of lives in gradient form.”
According to BGR, the company had reportedly been testing a new design for the last month or so. The design was well received by testers, leading to its release. However, if your someone who has trouble adjusting to change, you might want to skip downloading this update.
If you happen to check the Instagram update out and find some added features we haven’t seen, we’d love to hear what they are. Feel free to share them in the comments below, along with your personal opinion of the redesign.
