Instagram iOS 1257 refines a familiar social hub into a sleeker, speedier experience. App launch times feel quicker and scrolling is noticeably smoother; animations are crisper and less jittery on both recent and older iPhones. The feed algorithm still favors short-form video, but this build improves relevance slightly—you’ll see fewer repeat clips and more varied creators. Reels editing adds one useful tweak: a faster trim scrubber that makes micro-edits painless. Stories get a subtle UI cleanup (smaller controls, more content area) that reduces visual clutter without hiding features.
Rating (out of 5): 3.8 — solid polish, not transformative.
Who this is for: heavy Reels watchers will enjoy smoother playback and quicker edits; creators benefit from the trimming tweak. If you value low battery impact and minimal bloat, this is a modest but worthwhile incremental update.
Battery use is modestly improved compared with prior builds, though heavy Reels consumption still heats devices during long sessions. Privacy controls remain straightforward, but the permissions prompts are more persistent after updates. Minor bugs fixed: occasional caption duplication and a crash when opening some DMs; a rare camera freeze persists for a small subset of users.