This week Telegram unleashed its latest app dubbed Telegram X a faster, slicker and easier to use version of its original version. The company reckons that they have seen less and less innovation coming from their competitors, who now seem content merely to adapt Telegram features to their platforms with an average lag of two years. With this, they started an internal competition to feed their flames. This is why for the last two years they’ve been developing a new generation of Telegram clients in parallel with the main versions.
The Telegram X project features apps written from scratch, with an entirely new code base and without all the legacy components that our older apps have accumulated through the years.
Telegram X is born
The goal of Telegram X is to reinvent Telegram and explore new frontiers in speed, ease of use, quality of animations and all other aspects. This week they have rolled two new official apps – Telegram X for Android and iOS (this version was removed form the app store as per this writing).
Both these apps are experimental and may or may not eventually replace the existing official apps. But even if they don’t, they will speed up the development of Telegram by allowing us to quickly test new approaches and technologies.
X for Android
Telegram X for Android was reportedly born in the furnaces of a contest for Android developers that the company’s founder launched two years ago. The winner then used the power of TDLib to create a stunning app with a special focus on smooth animations.
X for Android is faster and more battery-efficient than the original app and features a sleek new design: Telegram X also supports a clean bubble-free mode for chats, where messages and photos get more breathing space – and photos in channels assume the full width of the screen:
In Telegram X, you can tap and hold on any chat to preview its content without opening. This works everywhere, including in the forwarding and sharing menus, as well as in the Calls tab and ‘Groups in Common’.
The app also offers an abundance of useful swiping actions. For example, you can switch between ‘Chats’ and ‘Calls’ by swiping left and right on the main screen. You can also swipe right on any message to instantly open the forwarding menu:
The app includes a reimagined music player and attachment menu, as well as optimized profile pages with quick access to shared media. You can easily switch between different types of shared media by swiping.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of features, Telegram X for Android is full of little surprises in every corner.
The app is now ready to begin its experimental journey with new features scheduled to appear in weeks to come.
