Apple Starts Its Own Instagram Account to Tout iPhone Camera

Apple is on Insta now: The Cupertino-based computer maker officially unveiled its Instagram account Monday, uploading a series of slideshows that celebrate the iPhone’s camera.

The photos, which are part of Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign, have been sourced from other Instagram users. The company recorded interviews with these photographers, and is including snippets of their statements in short video clips as well.

It also used Instagram’s Stories feature when it premiered its account Monday morning. And it is encouraging others to participate by tagging their photos as #ShotoniPhone.

Apple has long relied on crowdsourced photos for its Shot on iPhone campaign. However, the use of Instagram is nonetheless remarkable, since the company has traditionally avoided social platforms, especially those controlled by potential competitors.

Case in point: For years, Apple had its own Twitter account, but never even bothered to upload a user photo. The company began to embrace the service ahead of last year’s iPhone announcement, and has since frequently advertised on Twitter. However, Apple still hasn’t sent out any regular tweets that aren’t ads, which is why its tweet count officially remains at zero.

As for Instagram, the company plans to continue to update its account with new photos, a spokesperson told Variety Monday.

[Source”cnbc”]