Instagram tests “Reels” editing tools to compete with TikTok

Instagram is testing a new set of video editing tools within its Stories camera called “Reels”. Its used to make 15-second video clips to a selected sound byte of music track, easily discoverable by hashtag or use audio from other clips, much like you can do with TikTok.

Instagram tells still feels Reels is different from TikTok:

No two products are exactly the same, and at the end of the day, sharing video with music is a pretty universal idea we think everyone might be interested in using. The focus has been on how to make this a unique format for us… Your Friends are already on Instagram. I think that’s only true of Instagram.

Instagram users could browse popular songs or borrow audio from other videos and record new visuals to music or spoken word, like lip syncing. Reels also introduces a bunch of new editing features like timed captions (another popular TikTok feature), new video transitions, and special effects with more of them coming later.

Now, Reels is being tested in Brazil with no timeframe for other markets. This news gave us flashbacks to when Instagram elevated the Snapchat Stories mechanic into its app and eventually surpassed Snapchat in users.

Something about the way that TikTok is structured and the way content is consumed feels inherently different from Instagram. We wonder if Instagram’s userbase will ever get used to the wackier, more informal, but often entertaining style of content or just stick to using Boomerang.

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