Telegram's 8.0 update is here, and the latest version brings with it some exciting updates—including live streams with an unlimited number of viewers to groups and channels, options to customize forwarded messages, a shortcut to switch between channels, and much more.
Read on to find out more about each new update.
Uncapped Live Stream Viewers
Telegram now allows an unlimited number of viewers to watch live streams, compared to the previous limit of 1,000. This means that you can start a live stream in a channel or a video chat in a group, without needing to worry about capacity.
The service also supports voice channels with support for an unlimited number of live listeners, who can raise their hand and ask to join your broadcast if you allow them to speak. Reminiscent of Clubhouse and a sign of that app's growing popularity in 2021, this feature will give industry experts and public figures an opportunity to engage more efficiently and have dialogues with their audiences on the app.
Easily Forward Telegram Messages
You can now forward messages with ease and customize them before forwarding. By tapping the message you want to forward, you can preview what the message will look like—and customize it first in order to control what the recipient receives.
Jumping to the Next Channel
Telegram's channels help you stay updated on your favorite topics. And now you can switch between your favorite channels seamlessly by simply... scrolling. When you reach the end of a channel, pull up to move on to the next channel.
This eliminates the need for you to go back to your chats to find the channel you want to browse next.
Check Out Trending Stickers
Telegram's latest update makes it easier to find the right one to enhance your chats. You'll find trending stickers above your recently-used stickers in your sticker panel.
When you find sticker packs you particularly like, simply hit Add to save them for future use. Telegram will update its selection of trending stickers regularly, so you will always have more than enough options to choose from and save.
And for the times when you don't know exactly what sticker you're looking for, Telegram can help with a simple, quick search. As written on the Telegram blog:
If you have a particular thing in mind and don't have it among your sets, type a word in the search field to find matches from the sticker directory. Try 'yellow', 'animal', 'dog', etc.
Find Out When a Friend's Choosing a Sticker
Sometimes, finding the perfect sticker takes time. That's why Telegram now notifies the person you're chatting to when you're searching for a sticker, so they don't think you've left them on read. The "choosing a sticker" status they see is similar to the "typing…" or "recording a voice message" text that appears at the top of the chat.
Unread Comments
Telegram has now launched comment counters, which is a tally of unread comments in the channels that have comments enabled for their posts. When you open a comment thread that has unread messages, a number will now appear that reflects the total number of unread comments.
This lets you know how many comments you haven't read under each post, in case you want to go through those comments to stay updated. If there are too many, for instance, you can opt to read them later when you have time to go through them all.
New Animated Emojis
Animated emojis are a fun and unique way to engage with people during a chat; a welcome alternative to GIFs and stickers. Flowers that bloom, plants that spring up, characters that blow kisses—the list goes on.
By expanding its animated emoji options, Telegram is adding to all the ways you can express how you truly feel and therefore have engaging chats on its app.
Telegram: Evolving With Time
Telegram has come a long way since launching eight years ago. No longer a back-up app collecting dust on our phones, it is becoming more relevant and fun with each update.
Only time will tell if it will become one of our every-day, most-used apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp... But if its latest update is anything to go by, then it is trending in the right direction.