Instagram is expanding its viewing experience from phones to the living room, launching its TV app on Samsung screens in the United States. The rollout follows last December's launch on Amazon Fire TV devices and the app's expansion to Google TV platforms in February.
The app lets users watch Reels and Stories from friends and creators in a format adapted for television. In its current version, it organizes Reels into topic-based channels, including music, sports, and travel, so families and friends can watch together around shared interests.
Instagram is also testing two new features designed to make home viewing and content discovery easier. One would let users cast Reels directly from a phone or from saved posts to the TV, making it simpler to show specific clips that are not part of the app's built-in channels. The second experimental feature would create a dedicated section for horizontally shot videos, which are better suited to TV and computer screens than vertical mobile displays.
The company says it plans to broaden the video formats available for larger screens and is exploring ways for creators to publish longer, more in-depth videos. Future plans also include episodic series built for television viewing and the addition of livestreams to the home platform, with creators involved in adapting the new content.