The Telegram team has announced another update. The clients for Android, iOS, and macOS are now available in version 11.3.
The new version features significant changes to video upload mechanisms. Users can now see the time of the last message update, attach photos and videos to sent posts, and more.
Accelerated Video Loading
While watching videos, the application will automatically select the optimal quality based on the connection speed. This improvement allows videos to load faster and consume less data.
Users will also be able to choose the video quality themselves (low, medium, Full HD). To do this, they need to click on the settings button (gear icon) in the video player.
The new feature is currently available only for video files uploaded by owners and administrators of large channels after the update.
The platform will automatically optimize the video and save it in several versions with different compression levels. For viewers with slow connections, the compressed version will open by default, while those with high-speed connections will see the maximum quality.
Changes to the Video Player
In addition to the settings menu, playback speed can now be adjusted using gestures. To speed up playback by 1.5 times, simply press and hold the right side of the screen; swiping right will increase the speed to 2.5 times.
To return to normal speed, release the screen when the desired moment is reached.
For Android, accelerated rewinding is also available by tapping. By double-tapping the left or right side of the screen, users can jump back or forward by 10 seconds.
On iOS, users can enter "Picture in Picture" mode by dragging the open video upwards. A downward swipe will still close the video as before.
Other Innovations
Telegram now allows users to add photos, videos, and other files while editing messages. Previously, this required deleting the message and resending it.
To attach a file to a sent message, simply select "Edit" from the context menu, click the "Add File" button (paperclip), and choose the desired file.
The message menu now also displays the time when the sender edited it. If a message has been edited multiple times, the time of the last edit will be shown.
Group and channel owners can now use a new hashtag format (#hashtag@user). This will reflect only stories and posts related to the hashtag from the channel specified after the @ in the search results.
Additionally, Telegram has expanded its monetization program to include bots and mini-apps. Their developers will be able to earn up to 50% of the revenue from ads displayed through the Telegram Ads platform.
Bot creators have also gained the ability to send users up to 30 messages per second for free. By paying with "stars," this limit can be increased to 1,000 messages, with each message costing 0.1 stars.
Previously, Spot reported that Pavel Durov introduced a platform for verifying Telegram users called Telegram Gateway.