Instagram's now rolling out a new format for its Stories Camera, which will make the app's various Stories tools - including GIFs, Countdown Stickers and Polls - easier to access and apply, direct from the main function bar.

The biggest change is the addition of a new 'Create' mode, which replaces the existing 'Type' option. In 'Create', you'll be able to find all the various creative tools available, as opposed to having to add them through Stickers or other forms. 

You can see the new layout in action in this example from social media expert Matt Navarra.

By making these options easier to locate, and grouping them together in this way, it could encourage more use, while it may also enable Instagram to better highlight the app's most popular creative features. 

The new format was spotted in testing by back-end coding expert Jane Manchun Wong back in August, who also uncovered a range of other coming tools, including new Boomerang modes and Layout options.

Those options have not been released as yet, but they point to the next iteration of Instagram's creative tools for Stories, which will likely be highlighted within the new camera layout at some stage in the near future.

Feature-wise, this format update doesn't add anything new, but it does, as noted, make it a little easier to get a better idea of how your Story frame is going to look, and it makes the various creative tools easier to locate.

It could help in your Stories creation efforts, ensuring that you're utilizing all the options available in order to improve engagement and performance.