Snapchat is officially rolling out native support for iPad, the company announced in the app’s latest release notes. Since Snapchat’s launch in 2011, the social networking app has only been available on iPads as an iPhone app with large black borders around it, not as a native app for the iPad’s bigger screen.
With this new update, support for iPad is rolling out 13 years after Snapchat launched on iOS.
“Snapchat now offers native support for iPad,” the App Store release notes simply state. “This means that Snapchat will fill an iPad’s full screen, providing you with a larger canvas when capturing Snaps and allowing you to see more friends on the 2nd and 4th tabs.”
The new app increases accessibility on iPads, while also serving as a bit of a testing ground for new features, as you can play around with tools, AR experiences and AI on a bigger screen. It’s unclear why Snap has waited until now to bring its app to iPad, nor has the company disclosed if it will offer any new experiences for iPad users.
Unfortunately, the new app still isn’t fully optimized for tablets as it can only run in portrait mode, not landscape mode.
The launch of the native app comes as TikTok released an update last year that was designed to take advantage of larger screens like iPads and tablets. The update started allowing people to use the app in landscape mode and navigate the app more easily. By releasing native support for iPads, Snapchat is better poised to compete with TikTok, and possibly get more eyes on its TikTok competitor, Spotlight.
It’s also worth noting that another Instagram has yet to launch a native iPad app, which gives both Snapchat and TikTok a bit of a competitive edge over the Meta-owned platform.
