No Joke: Instagram Is Finally Available for Android

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The wait is over. Instagram has finally released an app for Android, available right this second on Google Play.

It’s no secret that Android users coveted the app, which was previous only available on the iPhone. According to Instagram, the Android version will feature the exact same filters as the iOS one and will also be downloadable for free.

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The iOS version does have a few advantages over its newly released Android cousin, including features such as “Tilt Shift/Blur, Share from Feed, Live Preview and Share to Flickr,” although the company says it will be adding those to future versions of the Android app.

You’ll have to have at least Android 2.2 to run Instagram and right now there is no tablet option. Currently the app is also available in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.

Apparently Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom wasn’t joking when he told a crowd at South by Southwest that the app would be coming for Android “really soon.” Back in December, Systrom was similarly vague when he told a crowd at Le Web that he had two people working on it and that it would come out eventually.

The app has been a huge hit for the iPhone. It currently has more than 30 million registered users who upload 5 million photos every day.

So, what took so long? Instagram says it was because it was being “meticulous about translating the Instagram experience to the Android platform.” Ultimately, all that matters is that Android users can now take painfully sentimental, faux-vintage photos just like iPhone users can.

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