Instagram is Planning To Replace the Discover Icon with the Reels Button on Lower Menu Bar
Amid ongoing speculation about the future of TikTok in the US, Instagram decided to release its TikTok-inspired Reels functionality globally last week. The social media giant is now reportedly testing a new layout that would allow users to discover Reels content more easily. This new layout would see the Discover magnifying glass moved to the top, next to the Direct tab, and replaced with a new Reels button.
Tech analyst Josh Constine noted just that. For him, no front-page presence for the functionality, was the key flaw of Reels at launch.
He is not the only one to have criticised the. feature. The New York Times posted a review of the option, with well-known industry journalist Taylor Lorenz writing: “I can definitively say Reels is the worst feature I’ve ever used.”
Lorenz further noted that:
“[Reels is] confusing, frustrating and impossible to navigate. It’s like Instagram took all the current functionality on Stories (a tool to publish montages of photos and videos with added filters, text and music clips), and jammed them into a separate, new complicated interface for no reason.”
It seems, however, that Instagram is aware of these flaws and is actively looking at new ways to improve the functionality.
(Image creds: Matt Navarra via Social Media Today)
