Seriously? Apple’s latest Telegram update was held up just because of emojis?

Telegram CEO and founder Pavel Durov posted an update explaining why Apple held back the latest Telegram update. He said that it was because Apple demanded Telegram to remove a new emoji-related feature.

On 11 August, the founder wrote that Telegram’s latest update had “been stuck in Apple’s “review” for two weeks, without explanation or any feedback provided by Apple”. He calls it “demoralising”, and that it causes “direct financial losses to hundred of thousands of mobile apps globally”.

“…We’re often unable to distribute the new versions of Telegram due to the obscure “review process” imposed on all mobile apps by the tech monopolies,” said Durov.

Today, Durov wrote that Apple got back to Telegram with an explanation, but only after “extensive media coverage”. Telegram’s new update for Apple is also missing Telemojis——the app’s “higher quality vector-animated versions of the standard emoji”.

“This is a puzzling move on Apple’s behalf, because Telemoji would have brought an entire new dimension to its static low-resolution emoji and would have significantly enriched their ecosystem,” continued Durov.

There’s no official reason as to why Apple was so concerned about Telegram’s Telemojis. The Verge guesses that Apple might have taken issue with another company modifying its designs in this way as well. But for now, we can only speculate.

Telegram’s newest update (iOS, Android) lets free users look at any of the customisable animated emojis on the app and use them in their saved messages. Users who subscribe to Telegram’s USD 4.99 Premium service will be able to upload and use their own custom emojis, and Telegram is offering 10 custom packs with more than 500 emojis. You can read more on the other updates in Telegram’s blog post.

Durag also said that users will be able to add any custom emoji as a reaction to a message and display an emoji as their current status next to their name “in a few weeks”.

[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]