Instagram announced on Thursday that Edits is coming to Mac desktop, with a version built for more complex video-editing projects that benefit from a larger screen, mouse, and keyboard. The move puts the short-form video editor in closer competition with ByteDance’s CapCut, which Meta set out to challenge when it launched Edits last year.
Desktop editing for larger projects
The desktop release is aimed at projects that have outgrown a phone screen. Brett Westervelt, head of Edits, said creators have described the same situation: a project becomes too big for a phone, a dozen clips are in play, and the timeline is hard to see when a thumb covers part of it. He said the company is expanding Edits for ambitious projects on desktop.
Instagram says the new app includes licensed and royalty-free music, sound and video effects, and automatic captions in multiple languages. Audio and text styles saved on the mobile app sync to desktop, and creators can customize keyboard shortcuts or import them from other editing software.
Editing tools and export options
The desktop version includes a full multi-track timeline, keyframes for transitions, audio waveforms for accurate cuts, and support for creators to import their own font files. It also supports horizontal and vertical video formats. Instagram says exports are watermark-free and can be rendered in 4K for sharing across platforms or personal use.
Publishing from desktop
Creators can publish from the desktop editor directly to Instagram, with native features such as tagging and location built in. Instagram says that removes the need to edit on desktop, download the file, move it to mobile, and make more edits before posting.
Weekly updates and mobile growth
Instagram plans to ship weekly updates for the desktop editor. The company says it is working on a way for creators to edit one project across desktop and mobile seamlessly. It also said it will continue to grow the mobile Edits app for more than 50 million creators who use it.
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