Telegram is back on Apple Watch – bringing chats back to your wrist

The Apple Watch is easily one of the best smartwatches. And if you’re a keen Telegram user, there’s good news – Telegram has launched a new native watchOS app more than a decade after first bringing the service to Apple’s smartwatch. CEO Pavel Durov announced the release on X, describing it as a fully native Apple Watch experience rather than a stripped-back companion app.

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Interested? To get things started, users are asked to scan a QR code using the Telegram app on their iPhone and, if enabled, enter their cloud password before gaining access to their account.

Once signed in, you can access contacts and conversations, send and receive voice and text messages, view GIFs and videos, share locations, and browse stickers directly from your wrist. Support for video and GIF playback is particularly notable, as media features are often pared back on smartwatch apps.

Telegram originally launched Apple Watch support in June 2015 as part of Telegram 3.0, shortly after Apple’s wearable arrived. Like several other services, it eventually discontinued its native watchOS app as enthusiasm around standalone smartwatch software cooled. But Telegram’s decision to bring back a fully featured Apple Watch experience suggests the platform may once again be worth the effort.

For anyone who relies on Telegram as their primary messaging platform, it means checking conversations, replying to messages, and viewing shared media is now much easier without constantly reaching for your phone.

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Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.