Telegram update adds scheduled voice chats, new payment features, and more

Telegram updates some features.

What you need to know

• Telegram introduces scheduled voice chats to the app.
• Payments have been updated so that they can be made to merchants in any chat.
• Android devices can directly download the update from the Telegram site.

Telegram has been very consistently updating the app with plenty of new features. Recently, Telegram introduced Clubhouse-style voice chats to the application and has been improving on the feature ever since. Today, the app continues to add more improvements to voice chats and add a host of additional features.

Users can already schedule messages on Telegram, but with the new update, users can now schedule voice chats for a later date and time. This will add more flexibility to the feature, which previously only let users start chats immediately. Telegram is also adding a countdown feature to act as a reminder for an upcoming group chat. Chats won't necessarily start when the countdown reaches zero, they'll only begin when the host presses "start." Once in a voice chat, users will have access to "mini profiles" of others which can be accessed just by clicking on their thumbnail. The profiles include swipeable photos and other quick actions.

Telegram is also improving its payment function, which can now handle payments to merchants within any chat. This should make it quicker and easier to pay for goods while chatting with friends. Telegram also highlights that its payment feature "takes no commission, and stores no payment information."

Other new features include two new web apps for mobile and desktop, pinch-to-zoom, improved media player controls, and smoother animations for Android devices, all of which you can find on the blog post. Telegram notes what while iOS users are receiving the update, users on the best Android phones can skip Google's "longer than usual review times" by downloading the app straight from Telegram.org. Apps downloaded from the site will also receive updates automatically so that you don't have to keep re-downloading whenever a new version is released.