Instagram today became the latest company to ditch the Apple Watch, eliminating its Apple Watch app in an update that was released this morning.

In a statement given to French site iPhoneAddict, Instagram said the Instagram Apple Watch app was built using the watchOS 1 SDK, which was obsoleted by Apple on April 1. Rather than putting effort into rebuilding the app, Instagram has decided to end support for the wrist-worn device.

instagramapplewatchapp

"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. We are committed to providing users with the best experience with their Apple products and we will continue to explore ways to achieve this on all platforms. Users with an Apple Watch will continue to enjoy a great Instagram experience through various rich and varied notifications. "

Apple last year began notifying developers that Apple Watch apps need to be native apps built with the watchOS 2 SDK or later as of April 1, 2018. Apple first began requiring new apps to use the watchOS 2 SDK in June of 2016, and watchOS apps that continue to use the watchOS 1 SDK can no longer be updated. Apple now requires all new watchOS apps to be built using the watchOS 4 SDK.

Instagram has had a watchOS app available since 2015, and it was one of the first companies to support the Apple Watch when it first launched. The app was designed to let you view and like photos from the social network on your wrist. Instagram features will continue to be available on Apple Watch, but through notifications sent to a linked iPhone.

Instagram joins several other major companies that have abandoned development for the Apple Watch and eliminated their watchOS apps, including Twitter, Google Maps, Amazon, and eBay.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 9
Tag: Instagram
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Top Rated Comments

hayesie Avatar
hayesie
79 months ago
How about they focus on making an iPad app. It's 2018 . . . almost exactly 8 years after the iPad launched. I can't fathom a legitimate reason why one of the world's top-10 most valuable companies (Facebook) hasn't made an iPad app for, arguably, the most loved Social Media platform.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
djcerla
79 months ago
A photo sharing app for a watch wasn’t a very good idea to boot.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
69Mustang
79 months ago
Right when I was thinking of buying one, a lot of companies are ditching it. Either people are not holding onto their Apple watches or they just really are not using the apps built for them. What gives?
Companies are starting to realize that every app doesn't fit the AW proposition. That's not saying anything negative about the AW. It's just a realization that AW works better as a notification device, a quick hit-n-run device... ya know, just like Apple said it was designed to be.

Most of the companies removing their AW apps probably shouldn't have had AW apps to begin with, imo. I mean seriously, who's going through pics on a ~1.5" screen?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aluminum213 Avatar
Aluminum213
79 months ago
And nothing of value was lost
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NikeSG Avatar
NikeSG
79 months ago
Right when I was thinking of buying one, a lot of companies are ditching it. Either people are not holding onto their Apple watches or they just really are not using the apps built for them. What gives?
The apps that are dropping are impractical and slow. Apple Watch is still solid, there’s nothing that has been taken away that I miss. While, yes, there is still plenty of room for growth and innovation for watch apps. Apple also needs to open it up a bit more to developers, but I assume that’s all in due time.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Asarien Avatar
Asarien
79 months ago
Makes sense. It operated very slowly and wasn't useful at all.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven

Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

Sunday April 21, 2024 6:03 am PDT by
Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Kosutami has revealed...
Read Full Article • 443 comments
maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Read Full Article • 245 comments
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
Read Full Article • 336 comments
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday April 21, 2024 3:00 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
Read Full Article
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. The lack of ...
Read Full Article • 189 comments
Provenance Emulator

PlayStation and SEGA Emulator for iPhone and Apple TV Coming to App Store [Updated]

Friday April 19, 2024 8:29 am PDT by
The lead developer of the multi-emulator app Provenance has told iMore that his team is working towards releasing the app on the App Store, but he did not provide a timeframe. Provenance is a frontend for many existing emulators, and it would allow iPhone and Apple TV users to emulate games released for a wide variety of classic game consoles, including the original PlayStation, SEGA Genesis,...
Read Full Article • 181 comments