Instagram will reportedly begin rolling out its Reels in the US „soon” with more than 50 other countries to follow. The feature, arriving as part of Instagram, effectively serves as a competitor to the popular Chinese app TikTok. It allows users to create 15-second videos over top of music and other audio.
Those videos can be edited extensively, and there are countdown timers, tools to adjust speed, and more. All of which is aimed at letting users get creative with short-form content. Once created, the videos are shared via stories.
Reels is already available in India as of last week and has been undergoing testing in Brazil, France, and Germany.
Why is this launching now?
Now, Reels isn’t the only TikTok-like competitor hoping to prove viable in the US right now. YouTube, Google’s Area 120, Facebook, and a plethora of others are looking to cut into the app’s market share as well. And that’s not without good reason.
TikTok rose to popularity with what can only be described as meteoric ferocity. It held sway over more than a billion users in February, growing exponentially toward the end of 2019. That’s following a steadier growth pattern from its initial launch in 2016. The growth placed it as a top app on many app markets and it’s managed to hold onto those spots for the most part.
But that’s started to change with the company under increased scrutiny from the US government and others. In fact, the app only just managed to avoid being banned outright over concerns about Chinese spying. And that could still change, as lawmakers mull over how to address those concerns. It’s already been banned in India, at Amazon, and elsewhere.
That makes this an opportune time for competitors like Instagram Reels to step in, especially in regions such as the US. As problems with TikTok continue to mount, it could start bleeding customers. Those customers will want a new platform to migrate to.
When, exactly, will Instagram Reels land in the US?
With regard to the exact timing of the launch for Reels, Instagram is keeping mostly mum. The company has hinted at „early August” in terms of a timeframe. That places a possible launch just weeks away. But specifics have not been provided regarding its arrival. Or what new features users might expect to see in celebration of the app’s more global launch.
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Source: ndroidheadlines.com