Skip to main content

Instagram 3.2 adds new filter, redesigned iOS camera, and Foursquare integration

Instagram 3.2 adds new filter, redesigned iOS camera, and Foursquare integration

Share this story

instagram on iphone
instagram on iphone

Instagram has a bit of a tough week since the photo-sharing service announced it was significantly scaling back integration with Twitter, but now there's some good news for its fans. A major update is about to roll out for both Android and iOS users with a major focus on the photo-taking experience. For starters, the camera section of the app has been revamped for iOS users — the iOS camera roll is now integrated right into the camera app, making it cleaner and faster to add photos that you've already shot to Instagram. There are also new optional grid guides when shooting photos as well as a permanent grid on the scaling and cropping screen. None of these features are revolutionary, but they should make the process of shooting pics with Instagram itself a bit easier.

Another major new addition is the integration of Foursquare data for the first time — now, location pages will have a Foursquare button that can open either the app or a mobile web version with details about the location where applicable. It's a logical extension, considering Instagram 3.0's Photo Map made locations a major part of the experience (though it was a somewhat controversial addition).

No revolutionary new features, but a solid update all around

There are also a few new customization features on board in the form of a new filter named Willow and some improvements to the tilt-shift blur feature. Photos processed with tilt-shift previously had differences between the image preview and what was actually published, but now Instagram says the preview should now mirror the final product. The algorithm itself has also been tweaked for improved accuracy and quality; tilt-shift was a highly-touted feature when it arrived, so fans of it will definitely appreciate these improvements.

The Instagram team appears to have made a number of smaller tweaks throughout the app, as well. The image feed has been redesigned with more space for images, grid views now have the infinite scroll feature that was added to the timeline with version 3.0, and iOS users will see a dedicated "Instagram" photo album for their filtered photos. While it might not quite make up for the cold shoulder Instagram gave Twitter last week, those who stick with the app should find this to be a useful update — though we'll have to see some photos before we can pass judgement on the new filter. The updated Instagram app should be available both in the iTunes Store and on Google Play any time now.