In the last hours of yesterday, January 31, 2022, the Telegram application received a new update that brought it to the version 8.5.0 and introduced a series of Announcements – including video stickers – and improvements, which further refine the user experience of the popular instant messaging service. Let’s find out all of them.
Telegram: the news of the update to version 8.5.0
The Announcements of the new update introduced from Telegram can be summarized in: easy-to-create video stickers, better reactions to messages – with more compact animations and more emojis available -, a new dedicated button to keep track of unseen reactions, a better browsing experience between chats and other minor improvements.
Sticket video: what they are and how they are created
The novelty is presented by Telegram with the premise of a bit of self-celebration: the popular service emphasizes how its animated stickers offer unparalleled quality and efficiency (each sticker needs less than 30 KB of data), however remember also how their creation is not within everyone’s reach, requiring a certain experience and the use of specialized software such as Adobe Illustrator.
The new function of video stickers arises precisely from the desire to eliminate this barrier and give space to the creativity of all users. The video stickeras the name suggests, they are the result of converting normal videos into stickers: thanks to the support of this function, everyone can easily create their own animated stickers using any video editing program.
For the publication of the sets you can refer to the usual bot @Stickersbut you can also add i new set created by others. For more details, Telegram invites you to consult the Video sticker manual and remember that “Developers can use the Sticker Import API to create powerful apps to create and import stickers on Telegram“.
How reactions to messages improve
Protagonists of the latest update last year, the reactions of Telegram are now being improved through the implementation of more compact animations. However, there is also the possibility of sending a larger effect: to do so, simply hold down on one of the reactions available in the relative menu.
Like the nice interactive emojis, now also the reactions to Telegram messages are synchronized, this means that the recipients will also see the animations in real time. Furthermore, since Telegram also intends reactions as a tool to answer questions or show approval (as well as to express emotions), it has enriched them with the read status: like answers and mentions, when the user’s messages present reactions not yet displayed, a new button ♡.
There are now more interactive reactions and emojis
In addition to the improvements just described, the new Telegram update also brings five new reactionsor 
, usable by users. These new reactions can also be exploited as interactive emojis: just send 
or individually in any private chat and touch the emoji to activate the synchronized animation on the sender and recipient screen.
How chat navigation improves
As for the improvements introduced by Telegram for navigation between chats, now, when users switch to the next unread channels or move between chats, simply hold down the “Back” button to return to a specific chat. The chats opened by forwarded messages, links, usernames, profiles and so on will also be added to the list.
Other news
Finally, Telegram reports the work done to solve known problems, with particular reference to improving call quality, adding support for translation in the Quick Open pages (and bio on iOS) and the option to send silent messages in the sharing. On iOSfinally, animations have been introduced when the icons of the tab bar are touched.
How to update Telegram for Android
All the functions described above are already available for all users with the latest Telegram update for Android downloadable from the Google Play Store using the badge below and on APK Mirror.
