How to make Instagram and other apps fill the whole screen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

If you’ve picked up a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, you’ve probably opened up that big beautiful screen only to discover that some of the best Android apps don’t quite fit onto Samsung’s most unique foldable phone. That’s because the inside screen is a very different aspect ratio from a regular telephone and acts much more like a tablet. Thankfully, making apps like Instagram full-screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is pretty simple, but you have to know where to look.

How to make apps full screen on the Z Fold 3

While we could argue over how much easier Samsung could have made it to adjust app sizes, there’s no question that the setting shouldn’t be as buried. You’ll need to navigate to the Samsung Labs feature and toggle each broken app individually to get to it. Here’s how to do that:

1. Open up system settings by selecting settings in your app list, pulling down the notification shade, and clicking the settings icon. It looks like a gear.
2. Scroll down to advanced features.
3. Select labs from the list.
   

   Source: Android Central

4. Select customize app aspect ratios from the list.
5. Find the app you want in the list of apps.
6. Click on the app and select full screen from the list of aspect ratios.
   

   Source: Android Central

As you’re scrolling through the list of apps, you’ll notice that apps that don’t use the correct aspect ratio have a different tag under the app name. In the case of Instagram, the title says App default (16:9). This extra text should make it easy to identify any apps that might look strange ahead of time.

Remember that this adjustment is under the Labs section for a reason. While all apps should theoretically work in any aspect ratio, some on-screen elements within apps might appear broken since Android allows apps to scale dynamically. For example, in-app buttons may not work, UI elements might be cut off, or things might look weird when using anything other than the app default ratio.

If you experience problems like this, set the scaling back to App default to ensure excellent compatibility. It might look weird, but at least it works!

Our top equipment picks

We’ve been waiting for Samsung’s latest foldable since the first announcement many years ago. Better displays, better screen protectors, faster processors, improved cameras, and a unique experience that’s nothing like what you’ll get with other phones. The Galaxy Z Fold 3, in particular, is an almost perfect hybrid of phone and tablet in one incredible device and worth checking out thanks to a new lower price and some sweet deals from carriers and Samsung alike.