The new version 8.6 of the popular and feature-rich messaging app has arrived, and this time this update introduces tools to help you control your downloads, a new attach menu for seamless document sending, an updated registration and login interface, the ability to turn your channel into a TV station, and more.
Telegram enables its users to send and receive files of any type with a size of up to 2 GB per file, but when the user downloads these files, he does not get any notification of the download progress in the application.
To solve this problem, Telegram 8.6 adds a download manager where a new icon appears in the search bar when there are active downloads.
You can press the icon or go to the “Downloads” tab in the search field to view and manage files; Whether to pause or resume all files or a single file, to select a file to prioritize download, or to display it in chat.
In this version, the attachment list has been updated. Now, when sending multiple photos or videos, you can click on “selected media” at the top of the window to preview the album before sending it or to rearrange or remove the selected media.
On iOS, the Attach list has been redesigned to catch up with Telegram for Android. An in-app camera option is integrated into the gallery, and a new navigation bar has been added that provides quick access to photos, files, location sharing, and more. In addition, the Recent files tab shows recently sent files to allow you to search for them by name.
On Android, starting with version 8.6.0, the windows and chat top bar have a slight transparency effect when the app is used in night mode allowing chat backgrounds, stickers, and media to appear nicely while scrolling. iOS users have already had a semi-transparent top and bottom bar on Telegram since June 2021, and it's good to see the development team bring nearly the same feature to Android users as well.
Next, Telegram now also allows users to share their profile link as a t.me/phone_number to make it easier for them to connect with friends and family. When someone clicks that link, a conversation will open with you instantly.
Previously users could only share their profile link as t.me/username, which is impractical for many people, now they can use their phone number with that link too.
You must use the full international number format when sharing a profile link like "t.me/+4412345XXXX". This link will only work if your privacy settings allow others to find you by your phone number.
Speaking of t.me links, anyone can now preview the content of those links, whether they are personal pages, posts, or entire public channels, in the browser even if they haven’t signed up for Telegram yet. These previews got a new look with the addition of background chats and other elements from Telegram Web.
Finally, Telegram via its desktop apps, supports the ability to broadcast from streaming tools like OBS Studio and XSplit Broadcaster, so you can easily add multi-screen effects and layouts and turn any Telegram channel into a TV station.
To stream from these tools, start a new video chat in your group or a new live stream in your channel, tap the 'Start With' button, and enter the information found there into your streaming tool.
Viewers will need to update the Telegram app to the latest version to watch your broadcast, and for better quality, the Telegram development team recommends using the x264 software encoding in OBS.
