Instagram brings Reels and longer videos to Apple TV

Instagram launched a dedicated app on Apple TV on Oct. 23, 2026. The app brings Reels to the streaming device. It also brings longer videos and live shows. Those formats appear on Apple TV through Instagram for the first time.

Apple’s release metadata dates version 66.0 of the app to Oct. 23, 2026. An archived App Store listing from Oct. 19, 2026 still showed Instagram compatible only with iPhone and iPad. The listing indicates Apple TV support arrived quietly.

WeRSM reports an archived listing from Oct. 18, 2026 mentioning only iPad and iOS before the Apple TV change was spotted on Oct. 23. The earlier listings show Instagram was limited to iPad and iOS before the change. The change indicates Apple TV support was added quietly after those listings.

The app requires tvOS 26.0 or later, Apple TV’s operating system. One App Store page now covers iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Instagram’s dedicated iPad app arrived in September 2025. It arrived after years of requests.

Meta first tested Instagram for TV on Amazon Fire TV devices in the United States in December 2025. The TV app reached Google TV in February 2026. It reached Samsung smart TVs in June 2026. Samsung Smart TVs in the United States from 2020 models and newer received the app in June 2026.

Meta said in June 2026 that Fire TV, Google TV, and Samsung covered most connected TV devices in the United States. Meta’s June 2026 statement made Apple TV the obvious next stop after Fire TV, Google TV, and Samsung. Meta also outlined plans in June 2026 to expand beyond short videos into longer creator content, episodic series, and live broadcasts.

The Apple TV app includes Reels, longer videos, and live shows from day one, but not episodic series. Users can watch videos from creators they follow. They can discover new content. They can resume watching across devices such as iPhone and iPad.

Instagram presents the app as a way to watch together with friends and family on the largest screen at home. The early TV experience centered on Reels sorted into interest-based channels. Videos played automatically in those channels. Adapting to television required Instagram to offer horizontal, landscape videos for television aspect ratios.

Meta is testing casting Reels from a phone to the TV. Meta is also testing Stories on the big screen and a dedicated home for horizontal videos. Casting is live on Google TV and Fire TV. No announcement confirms whether these features reach Apple TV.

The Apple TV app is rated 13+ and includes age assurance and parental controls. The app carries ads. It carries messaging and user-generated content. Some user-generated content can be rated higher than 13+.

The Fire TV version supported up to five accounts per TV. Reels there generally followed PG-13 standards. WeRSM says Instagram is testing whether short-form swipe content can hold attention in a living room. The viewing there is shared and passive.

WeRSM, citing The Verge, links the expansion to longer-form episodic content and microdramas. The links give Instagram a distribution layer beyond the mobile app and scrolling. WeRSM says creators and media brands may increasingly see Reels as programming that travels across screens. They may see it as something other than mobile-only discovery content.

Mashable says Meta bets short-form video will work communally on a big screen. Meta is working with creators to make uploading and streaming painless. Meta is exploring longer-form video, episodic videos, live-streaming, and subscriptions. The company is moving closer to competition with YouTube.