Though some part of me can't help but to feel somewhat glad. Twitter has been treating developers like crap for the past year; is somewhat comforting to see them getting a taste of that.
If it's decent, I suspect it'll replace Instagram for many Twitter users. Especially if Instagram still doesn't allow their pictures to show up in the card view.
Unless Twitter creates a section/site dedicated to just photos, it will not be a threat to Instagram.
Instagram's FAQ actually puts their social network integration as a major feature of the app, even mentioning Twitter as one of the compatible networks.
...and I would absolutely take that bet. I know a ton of (less tech-y) people that check Instagram like it's a bad addiction. It's become a less involved Facebook- checking that results in a huge cognitive load, Instagram is just a nice stream of photos for you to browse through.
I get far more 'native' comments on my Instagram photos than I do through the integrated Facebook post. I suspect I am not alone.
But now I think Instagram's clear use case is seeing the world through your friends' eyes--what they're eating, seeing, doing. Filters seem less important now, especially given the #nofilter trend.
The #nofilter crowd will move on to the next photo sharing hotness as soon as it comes out. A market is made up of many demographics, the #nofilter crowd are the early adopters who want to distinguish themselves. At first this was by using filters, now it's by not using filters and leveraging their followers for the same dopamine induced reward cycle that was once delivered by the filters. So, while it may seem like I agree with you, I don't. The fact that there are filters is the big deal with Instagram, but for some people, making the choice not to use them, is their own form of self expression, but without the filters to choose not to use, it wouldn't be instagram. They are still vitally important, even when they are not used. I hope this makes sense, I am not sure I have articulated my point very well.