Meta is testing a radical redesign of Instagram that could fundamentally change how billions use the platform. The company is trialing making Reels - not the traditional photo feed - the default home tab in India, signaling a massive strategic pivot toward video-first social media consumption that mirrors TikTok's approach.
Meta just dropped a bombshell that could reshape social media as we know it. The company is testing a fundamental redesign of Instagram that makes Reels - not your traditional photo feed - the first thing users see when opening the app. This isn't just a minor tweak; it's a complete philosophical shift toward video-first consumption that puts Instagram squarely in TikTok's territory.
The test, currently rolling out to select users in India on an opt-in basis, restructures Instagram's entire navigation hierarchy. According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri's announcement on Threads, Reels and direct messages now occupy the prime real estate as the first two tabs. The move isn't arbitrary - Mosseri explicitly states that these features have been "a key driver of growth for Instagram over the past few years."
The new interface maintains some familiar elements like the horizontal Stories carousel at the top, but everything changes once you start scrolling. The layout transforms into what current users recognize from the dedicated Reels tab: full-screen video dominating the entire display. Traditional photo posts from accounts you follow will still appear, though Mosseri's demonstration doesn't reveal exactly how they'll be integrated into this video-centric experience.
This test didn't emerge in a vacuum. Meta has been telegraphing this direction through its recently launched iPad app, which already defaults to opening into Reels from the home tab. The company justified that design choice by saying it was built "to reflect how people use bigger screens today - for lean back entertainment," according to Meta's official announcement. But extending this philosophy to mobile suggests something much bigger is happening.
The timing couldn't be more significant. While Instagram has spent years playing catch-up to TikTok's short-form video dominance, this potential redesign represents the most aggressive move yet toward full video-first social networking. It's a tacit admission that the photo-sharing app that launched in 2010 needs to evolve or risk becoming irrelevant to younger users who increasingly consume content in vertical video format.
Industry observers have been expecting this shift for months. Internal data has consistently shown that Reels engagement outperforms traditional posts, and advertising revenue from video content far exceeds static imagery. By making Reels the default experience, is essentially betting its most valuable social platform on the hypothesis that video consumption will continue accelerating.
