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Telegram Returns to Smartwatches With Native Apple Watch and Wear OS Apps

Restores first‑party wrist messaging with core chat and voice support, with Telegram planning to add missing platform features in a follow‑up update.

Overview

  • Telegram has begun rolling out native companion apps for Apple Watch and Wear OS that let users read full chats, view media, and send and play voice messages from the wrist.
  • The initial releases show a temporary feature split: Wear OS gains chat management tools such as muting, pinning and deleting, while the Apple Watch build includes location previews and sticker support; Telegram says it will bring the missing items to each platform in a later update.
  • The Apple Watch app pairs via QR code to the iPhone and may prompt cloud‑password authentication for accounts with two‑factor protections, while discoverability depends on staged app‑store listings.
  • The same update also adds several non‑wearable improvements, including richer bot text formatting, links in poll options, markdown file support, and a long‑press option to open links in an external browser.
  • The comeback reconnects Telegram to modern Wear OS hardware like the Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch after a roughly five‑year absence and should reduce reliance on third‑party clients and improve wrist performance for users.