Telegram has made a return to Wear OS, and for many Android smartwatch users, this is a solid little comeback. The messaging app’s latest update introduces a brand-new smartwatch app for Apple Watch and Android Wear OS. This brings access to Telegram directly from the wrist, meaning you can browse chats more seamlessly, read longer messages, view media, and even share and listen to voice notes, among other things.
All of this may seem like some basic smartwatch functionality, but Telegram has been away from Wear OS since 2021. So for years, Android watch users had to make do with just notifications or third-party workarounds if they didn’t want to reach for their phones.
Finally, a true wrist app for Telegram
Telegram’s smartwatch update is more than just a simple reply-from-notification setup. According to the announcement, users can browse chats and media, manage conversations, and even read messages of any length. On the Android side, Telegram says its developer added options to mute chats, pin chats, and delete messages.
Apple Watch users get a slightly different set of extras at launch, including location previews and stickers. Telegram jokes that it plans to have both platform teams borrow features from each other in a future update, to make the experience more consistent over time.
Why this handy for modern Wear OS
With Wear OS no longer being the sleepy platform it was a few years ago, this is the perfect time for the update. The Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch models are giving Android users more credible smartwatch options, and messaging is still one of the most important things a watch can do well, and Telegram’s absence made the platform feel oddly incomplete for people who use it every day. It is a small update, but it’s big enough to make long chats, busy channels, and a voice note being more intuitive to interact with on your wrist.
