This story was originally published and last updated . 

Video chat has been around for the better part of forever, but it really came into its own over the course of the past year. With the surge in popularity, a whole host of new players have been coming out of the woodwork, many adding video-chat support to their existing apps. Earlier this month we checked out Telegram’s effort when it first came to beta users, and now group video chats are finally going live for everyone with the public release of Telegram 7.8.

Anyone engaging in a group voice chat can now start a video broadcast or share their screen.

Just tap the overflow (⋮) button while in the group and you’ll find the option to either start recording or screen sharing. You can use these features in any group, but only the first 30 users will be able to get video for now — the rest will be stuck on audio.

As for the screen sharing, you have the option to just share the screen itself, or to also do so alongside your video feed.

In addition to all that new functionality, gradient backgrounds have gotten a minor makeover, shifting colors as you send messages. To use this, head into appearance settings and find the background menu. If you pick one of the colorful backgrounds, tapping the color button will let you add extra shades to it, making a gradient. For the effect to work when sending messages, you’ll need to have at least three colors selected.

But wait! There actually is more. Since first catching wind of this stuff in the 7.8 beta we’ve learned about a whole bunch of additional features that are also making their debut in this release. There are new menus for interacting with bots, as well as a bot just to help you with importing your stickers. And since we’re talking about animation anyway, Telegram is throwing in some new animated emoji and send-message effects.

Between this and the group video call support, we’re looking at one heck of a solid upgrade. You can grab Telegram 7.8 through the Play Store or over at APK Mirror.

Telegram
Telegram
Price:
Free

Stable

Telegram 7.8 is now out in stable. This post has been updated with the full details on its official release.

  • Thanks:
  • Nick