Smartphones users today have their pick of the litter when it comes to selecting an app and service to meet their messaging needs, and whether it’s encrypted messaging or extreme customization by way of themes and flashy colors, there are quite a few options (like WhatsApp) to satisfy just about anyone. Telegram is one of those apps and it actually has quite a bit to offer, namely the encryption, but there’s certainly more to love about it than that and it’s now getting better as the developers have just updated Telegram to version 3.5. Included in this update are a handful of changes which includes some new features and plenty of improvements to look out for if you’re a user.
First up on the list of new additions is the new voice messages. Telegram now lets users experience voice messages with waveform visualizations and a new player, and there is an experimental feature which allows users to raise their device to either listen or to speak during voice messages. Since this an experimental feature there is no way of telling whether or not Telegram is going to keep it, and it could end up disappearing in a future update. For now, though, users can take advantage of it and check it out to see if it’s something they would use on a regular basis.
Beyond the improvements to voice messages, Telegram has made improvements to the thing that makes them what they are, their secret chats. Following this update, secret chats now include support for GI images, replies, captions, and inline bots. Secret chats also now let users preview sticker sets so if you’re thinking about picking one up, you can see what things looks like before you make the decision. Privacy settings are all new here too, as Telegram now allows for fine-tuned control over who can add you to groups and channels. Simply put, you can block people from adding you if you don’t want to receive messages from anyone in those chats. Lastly, Telegram also now has a new photo editor, with a handful of added tools like rotate, fade, tint, and curve options. The Telegram update to version 3.5 should be live in the Play Store as of now, and if you haven’t used Telegram before you can pick it from the Google Play button below.
