As noted by The Verge, the update finally went out yesterday, and Durov took to Telegram again to discuss what happened. The CEO says Apple told Telegram it should remove a new feature called Telemoji, which Durov described as “higher-quality animated versions of the standard emoji.” He included a preview of what they would look like in his post — they’re similar to the basic set of emojis Apple uses, but with some really nice animations that could definitely help make messages a little more expressive. “This is a puzzling move on Apple’s part, because Telemoji would have brought a whole new dimension to low-res static emoji and greatly enriched their ecosystem,” Durov wrote in his post. It’s not entirely clear how this feature will enrich Apple’s overall ecosystem, but it still seems puzzling enough for Apple to stick with, especially since Telegram already has a number of emoji and sticker options that go far beyond the default set that found on iOS. Indeed, Durov noted that there are more than 10 new emoji packs in Telegram’s latest update and said the company will spend time making Telemoji “even more unique and recognizable.” However, there are still many emoji-related improvements in the latest Telegram update. The company says it’s launching an “open emoji platform” where anyone can upload their own set of emoji that can be used by those who pay for Telegram’s premium service. If you’re not a premium user, you’ll still be able to see the custom emojis and try using them in “saved messages” like reminders and notes in the app. Custom emojis can also be interactive — if you tap them, you’ll get a full-screen animated reaction. To make it all easier to access, the sticker, GIF, and emoji panel have been redesigned, with tabs for each of these reaction categories. This makes the iOS keyboard compatible with the Android app as well as the web version of Telegram. There are also new privacy settings that let you control who can send you videos and voice messages: everyone, contacts or no one. Telegram notes that, like its other privacy settings, you can set “exclusions” so that certain groups or people can “always” or “never” send you voice or video messages. The new update — sans Telemoji — is now available. All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
