What you need to know
- Telegram has announced a fairly big update for its apps.
- The company will be introducing a new limit for file sharing and adding support for profile videos.
- Android users will gain a redesigned media player and cropping support in Telegram's media editor.
WhatsApp and Messenger might be the first choice for many, but Telegram is getting there. In terms of features, however, the app has surpassed both and continues to widen the gap. This weekend, the company announced another slew of additions aimed at improving the overall functionality of the app, and they're pretty nifty.
First of all, Telegram has increased the file sharing limit so users can now share files up to 2GB. The previous limit was an already generous 1.5GB. You can also now set a profile video in lieu of a profile photo, making profiles have that little extra pop. It's not a feature you'll find in social media apps nowadays, Twitter used to offer gif profile photos but unceremoniously removed those years ago.
For Android specifically, Telegram is redesigning the music player to look more like a full-fledged music player. The icons have been redone, the tracklist is now expandable, and a single button now controls repeat and shuffle for greater ease of use while moving.
There are other features in this release including skin softener (essentially that auto mode on many Android cameras now), an improved media editor that supports cropping and rotating video, chat filtering akin to Facebook and Twitter's message requests, and support for up to three accounts on the desktop.
All these updates are available now in the main Telegram app, though a corresponding Telegram X release may not be far behind.
Telegram
Telegram is a fully-featured, privacy-focused messaging app. Its biggest flaw still remains its lack of critical mass compared to competitors.
