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Instagram discontinues its Apple Watch app

Instagram app on Apple Watch, discontinued as of early April 2018
Instagram app on Apple Watch
After big names like Amazon, eBay, and Twitter discontinued their apps for Apple Watch, the time has come for Instagram to do the same. The Instagram app for Apple's wearable will no longer provide a standalone experience once users upgrade to version 39 on iOS, and it will be replaced by various notifications.

As you can see in the short video embedded at the end of this article, using Instagram on an Apple Watch isn't exactly comfortable. However, some smartwatch users like to use various standalone apps instead of just receiving notifications, no matter how awkward it feels using these apps on a tiny touchscreen display. On the other hand, Instagram has just joined the list of big names in the industry who decided to drop their apps for Apple's smartwatch.

According to an official statement issued by Instagram to French blog iPhoneAddict (translated and quoted by ZDNet's Jake Smith), "The Instagram app for Apple Watch will no longer be available as a stand-alone experience once users upgrade to Instagram version 39 on iOS, released April 2, 2018." Fortunately, Apple Watch users will be able to receive "various rich and varied notifications" from now on, but this is definitely less than the experience provided by the Instagram app until now.

Over time, very popular Apple Watch apps such as Amazon, Google Maps, eBay, Whole Foods, or Twitter were discontinued. After Instagram's departure, some of the apps still available for this smartwatch might go away as well, since Apple recently required developers to build native apps for the Apple Watch in any future updates. As long as this wearable is not as popular as the iOS-driven iPhone flagships, some developers simply decided to discontinue their Apple Watch apps and focus on their versions for iPhone instead.  

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Codrut Nistor, 2018-04- 4 (Update: 2018-04- 4)