Telegram update lets users transcribe voice chat, repost stories and more

The popular instant messaging application, Telegram, has introduced an array of 11 new features, designed to enhance the overall user experience for its vast user base. Among the noteworthy addition is the voice transcription feature that allows you to transcribe your voice chats. Furthermore, the update elevates the storytelling aspect within the platform, introducing advanced features like ‘Reposting Stories’ and other innovations that go beyond conventional communication methods.

As Telegram continues to evolve and innovate, it faces stiff competition in the crowded messaging app landscape.

Competitors like WhatsApp, Signal, and Facebook Messenger constantly try to introduce new features and improvements to attract and retain users. There’s a race for supremacy in the instant messaging arena with each platform vying to offer the most compelling and feature-rich communication experience to their respective user bases. Here’s what Telegram is bringing to the table with its latest update.

Similar Channels: Telegram now allows users to discover new channels effortlessly. Upon joining a channel, users will now be presented with a curated list of similar public channels, automatically selected based on similarities in subscriber bases.

Reposting Stories: Users can now repost stories from friends and favourite channels, amplifying their audience with just a few taps. The repost feature enables users to add extra content such as text, audio, or video comments. To ensure privacy, only stories visible to ‘Everyone’ can be reposted.

Video Messages on Stories: Telegram’s latest update introduces video messages to stories, allowing users to add dynamic commentary or simply express themselves through video. These messages can be resized, moved around the screen, and adjusted along the time axis. Users can record video messages by holding the camera icon in the story editor.

Profile Colors: Premium users on Telegram now have the ability to set a unique colour combination with logos for their profile, making their page stand out. This feature adds a personalised touch, allowing users to customise their messages and profile. To access this feature, Premium users can navigate to Settings and select ‘Change Your Color’ on Android or ‘Your Color’ under Appearance on iOS.

Enhanced wallpaper customisation: Building on the ability for anyone to set custom wallpapers for individual chats, Premium users can now set a wallpaper for both sides. This feature adds a visual flair to conversations, making each chat unique and easily recognisable.

Voice-to-Text Feature for all: Telegram is democratising its voice-to-text feature, allowing all users to convert up to 2 messages per week into text. To recall, this feature was first brought in 2022 exclusively for paid users. This update makes it available for all, however, the free users will be restricted to transcribe two messages a week. By tapping the ‘A’ icon, users can explore this feature, which is being rolled out gradually. Premium users will continue to enjoy unlimited voice-to-text conversion.

Insights for Channel Stories: Channels posting stories can now access statistics for story views, shares, and reactions. It will show detailed graphs providing valuable insights into the performance and reach of their content.

Custom Reactions and Code Highlighting: Channel admins now have a new interface for managing reactions, including the ability to add custom emoji. Additionally, Telegram apps can now detect coding language and highlight syntax in messages sent with code formatting, facilitating clearer communication for developers.

Group improvements and iOS animation effects: In groups with Topics enabled, users’ view preferences will be saved, enhancing the overall group experience. On iOS, auto-deleted messages now feature a captivating Thanos Snap animation, adding a touch of magic to disappearing messages.