Telegram is rolling out a new update that introduces improved calls with a new design that uses less of your phone's battery. The update also brings new animations, enhancements to the app's bot platform and more.

The company claims to have redesigned calls and added dynamic backgrounds that change according to the status of the call: ringing, active or ended. The new interface uses fewer resources than before, meaning it saves battery life and works better on older devices. The update also brings improvements to call quality. Telegram says it plans to launch more improvements to connection and audio quality in 2024.

It's also launching updates for its bot platform, which enables developers to integrate services with the Telegram ecosystem. Bots can now react to messages and manage reactions, quotes, and links; send replies to other chats or topics; and much more. Information about giveaways and boosts can be accessed by bots, especially when they are set as admins in channels.

In addition, Telegram is also introducing the vaporize animation to its iOS and Android users. This was a feature tested by the app with selected users earlier. The effect occurs whenever a user deletes a message. It's aimed at giving the application a fun look.

The new features are launched a month after Telegram announced improvements to channels, emoji customization for reactions and stats for stories to compete better with WhatsApp, which launched its broadcast channels features to all users in September 2023. Though Telegram has had channels for a long time now, the app has to keep innovating to compete with WhatsApp.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently remarked on his broadcast channel in WhatsApp, "Channels feature has crossed 500 million monthly active users." For context, there are more than 2 billion monthly active users in WhatsApp and over 800 million monthly active users in Telegram.