Telegram is released a new update which introduces improved calls with a new design that consumes less of your phone’s battery. The update also brings new animations, improvements to the app’s bot platform, and more.
The company says it has redesigned the calls and added backgrounds that change dynamically based on the state of the call: ringing, active or hanging up. The new interface requires fewer resources than before, which means it saves battery life and works better on older devices. The update also brings improvements in call quality. Telegram says it plans to launch more connectivity and audio quality improvements in 2024.
Telegram is also rolling out updates to its bot platform, which allows developers to integrate services into the Telegram ecosystem. Bots can now react to messages and manage reactions, quotes and links, send replies to other conversations or topics, and more. Bots can also receive information about gifts and boosts in channels where they are admins.
In addition, Telegram is bringing its vaporize animation to both iOS and Android users, after previously testing it with select users. The new effect plays every time you delete a message and is designed to add some fun to the app.
The launch of the new features comes a month after Telegram announced improvements to channels, customizing emoji for reactions and statistics for stories to better compete with WhatsApp, which rolled out broadcast channels to all users in September 2023. If and Telegram has had channels for a while now, the app needs to keep innovating to compete with WhatsApp.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said on his WhatsApp broadcast channel that the channels feature had crossed the 500 million monthly active users mark. For context, WhatsApp has over 2 billion monthly active users and Telegram has over 800 million monthly active users.
