Telegram LLC’s experimental update to its popular Telegram messaging application – namely, Telegram X – has now been announced by the company via its official blog. This is, of course, the same app which had already been spotted and reported on late in January. Telegram’s new announcement highlights some of the more prominent features to be found and offers some insight into the direction Telegram X will take. The primary goal with X is, unsurprisingly, to allow Telegram to try out new features which might eventually make their way into their main messaging app for Android.
In many ways, Telegram is like other messaging apps found on the mobile platform. However, it also easily distinguishes itself from those other apps with a number of its features – such its use of the TDLib library to allow for super-smooth animations or its inclusion of a built-in music player. Telegram X builds on its predecessor’s success from the ground up, beginning with improvements to battery usage and its overall speed. It also includes a complete redesign to the interface to bring it more in line with expectations about modern applications. With that redesign, Telegram has included a “bubble-free” mode for chats that effectively removes the bubble surrounding messages and allows photos to fill the width of the chat. There are some new touch functions, as well, including the ability to tap and hold on a given chat to instantly preview its contents. That feature works from anywhere within the app’s interface. Additionally, gesture controls ranging from the ability to swipe between chats and calls to the ability to swipe right in order to open up the forwarding menu are included in Telegram X. The built-in music player and attachments menu have been revamped too, while profile pages have been optimized alongside the new inclusion of a quick access view for media that’s been shared between contacts.
Any of these features would likely be, on their own, a welcome addition to any messaging application but Telegram’s decision to roll them all into Telegram X is strikingly ambitious. Better still, the company says that these are only the features it is choosing to highlight rather than being a fully-encompassing list. More features will also be added over time and in response to user-feedback as the company moves forward. Bearing all of that in mind, Telegram X could feasibly become the must-have messaging app for Android over the next several weeks.
