Why I’m pumped that Instagram may soon save pics in 1080×1080 resolution

I’m a pretty big Instagram fan

Instagram is a photo sharing app that I use to syndicate edited images not only to the Instagram community, but also automatically to my Facebook and Twitter friends. It’s kind of like the lazy man’s way to social media, and boy, I love it. But wait, there’s new icing for my favorite cake!

The plans were uncovered by The Verge who found source code on the Instagram website indicating plans for 1080px photos, nearly double the current 640×640 resolution.

Images aren’t yet being shown in the new size, but it is reasonable to expect that if the company is uploading images in that size, the general public will eventually have the same ability to upload pictures in full HD resolution.

Example of new upload size

The images are not being stretched from the current 640 pixels to the 1080 pixel version, no, The Verge reports that they are being uploaded in HD resolution, solving a major scaling issue, given that images being viewed in some devices currently appear pixelated.

Check out one of the 1080×1080 shots below:

A photo posted by Sean O’Kane (@sokane1) on Jul 5, 2015 at 9:02pm PDT

When do we get this new option?

The option is not official, and Instagram has made no statement regarding the discovered source code, but we are being optimistic about the future of Instagram, and hoping the higher resolution option is offered soon.

If you want to see your own Instagram photos in the 1080px format, TechCrunch notes that you can already try it out: “From Chrome, click on the picture you want, and then go to View > Developer > View Source. Hit CMD + F and search for “n.jpg”. The hyperlink associated to the .jpg will be the photo you chose, so simply copy that link into another browser tab.”

Why I’m super excited and why you should be too

I’m one of those weird Instagram fans that prefers to lurk from my iPad, which means that images you’re seeing on your smaller smartphone screen look crisp and perfect, but on my mobile device, they lack perfection and could use a little polish. So, as a fan, I’m extremely excited to see the improvement in image quality, especially from some of the photographers I enjoy following.

For users, particularly those building a brand through the social network, the increased size is great news not only because you appeal to the aforementioned fandom, but because the edits you make on an Instagram photo are saved to your camera roll and can be used in other efforts like your blog or newsletters, and let’s face it, the filters and editing options result in better images than the average person can whip up on their own.

I mentioned that I like social media shortcuts, and HD resolution images for Instagram that can be used in other marketing efforts makes me super pumped about this potential upgrade to Instagram!

#IG1080