Instagram For Android Updates For Speed Boost

Instagram for Android has been updated with a new UI and faster performance, including making the app fit more comfortably on smaller-screen handsets. The app should now load twice as fast as before, Instagram claims, while having had its overall size cut by half so that it takes up less space on your Android smartphone or tablet, as well as increasing overall speed.

Meanwhile, the UI now looks more like a native Android app, and Instagram says v5.1 should also be easier to navigate through. That's both the case on smaller phones, where the pared-back UI will be less cluttered, and on larger devices like tablets, which will see the buttons less spread-out.

It's a much-needed (and anticipated) update, given that the old version of Instagram for Android felt in many ways like a rough port of the iOS app. That included graphical elements that would've felt more at home on an iPhone but, more significantly, sluggish performance that meant waiting for new photos to show up, lagging galleries, and other complaints.

The new version promises to address all that. It's available through Google Play now.