App Share: Telegram introduces group video calls and animated wallpapers

Telegram is updated with group video calls and animated wallpapers

A substantial update for the most functional messaging app ever: Telegram is updated by adding group video calls and animated wallpapers

Today's update lets you turn on your camera or share your screen during Voice Chats in groups – on all devices, including tablets and desktops. This brings voice chats to a whole new level, ready for online classes, business meetings and family gatherings.

We're also introducing animated backgrounds, stylish message animations and more – enough to fill a second blog post.

Group video calls

Voice chats in any group can now seamlessly turn into group video calls – just tap the camera icon to switch your video on. Tap on any video to make it fullscreen. If you pin a video, it will stay focused as new users join the call and turn on their cameras. To start a voice chat, check the ⋮ menu in the profile of any group where you are an admin.

While audio-only participants are unlimited, video is currently available for the first 30 people who join the voice chat. This limit will increase soon as voice chats take on streaming games, live events and more.

Screen sharing

In addition to your camera feed, you can also share your screen – or both at the same time. To share your screen, tap ⋮ or ⋯ in any app and select it from the menu.

Noise suppression options

We've improved noise suppression in voice chats to keep everyone's audio clear and crisp, even when you're eating something crispy. We've also added a toggle to turn noise suppression off in settings – for those times when munching has meaning.

Tablet and desktop support

Tablets and computers have more screen space and offer more display options – tap to open the side panel and see a split-screen view of the video grid and list of participants, optimized for both portrait and landscape orientation. Voice chats on desktop open in a separate window, so you can type and talk without minimizing anything. Desktop apps also have selective screensharing so you can broadcast an individual program instead of your whole screen. When you're using a desktop app, anyone who starts sharing their screen will be pinned automatically. This is especially useful when small teams meet to coordinate their work.

Animated Backgrounds

Meet animated backgrounds for chats – first time in a messaging app! These multi-color gradient wallpapers are generated algorithmically and move beautifully every time you send a message.

Our designers added these smooth, energy-efficient animations to all default themes. You can find more animated backgrounds in Settings. Android: Chat Settings  Change Chat Background. 

Creating & Sharing Backgrounds

In case the default options are not enough, it's super-easy to create your own animated backgrounds. Choose three or four colors to unlock the animation, then add an optional pattern for extra style.

When ready, share your animated wallpapers with friends and family to upgrade them to a new level of messaging experience.

Message Sending Animations

Stickers and emoji now seamlessly hop from your keyboard into the chat – with lightweight animations that won’t affect your battery. 

Login Info Reminders

It is essential to keep your Telegram phone number up to date to ensure you can always log in to your account. Android users will get these reminders in the next update, for now they can simply update their phone number by tapping on it in Settings.

Users on all platforms will receive a notification from Telegram each time their Two-Step Verification settings are changed. Two-Step Verification on Telegram lets you set up an additional password, which you will need to enter every time you log in to your account.

Bot Menu

We made it easier to communicate with bots, adding a special menu button that lets you browse and send commands. Bots can also change the placeholder in the input field to give you a better idea of what kind of message they are expecting.

Bot developers can now create commands that change based on a user’s interface language and chat type, as well as special commands that only appear in specific chats or for admins.

Importing Stickers

The @stickers bot can help you create new sticker packs as well as get usage stats for your stickers. Today we're giving third-party developers the tools to make apps that help people generate new custom unique stickers and import their creations to Telegram in one tap.

Remember, if you simply want Telegram users to install the stickers you made, you don't need any apps! Just upload your stickers using our bot, then share the link to your pack with others.

This update is all about motion, so we couldn't go without new animated emoji. As always, simply send a message with a single emoji to get one of these in a chat: https://telegram.org/file/464001038/4/-M5p-fh1uBI.3605822.mp4/a35119e5615c290df5

Source:

Telegram blog https://telegram.org/blog/