Telegram now supports video calls with up to 1,000 viewers

Telegram 1000 Viewer Art (Image credit: Telegram)

What you need to know

Popular messaging app Telegram now supports video calls with up to 1,000 viewers.
The new feature is designed for online lectures and more.

Popular messaging app Telegram now supports video calls with up to 1,000 viewers. Designed to make it easier for people to join online lectures and more, the feature is part of an update that focuses on video as a whole, including improved video messaging.

Announced via blog post, the changes begin with the group video call improvements. Telegram says it won't be stopping at 1,000 as well, with more coming.

Group video calls allow up to 30 users broadcast video from both their camera and screen – and now 1000 people can watch anything from online lectures to live rap battles.

Video messages are now getting an increase in resolution, while those receiving messages can now also watch them full-screen, too. Telegram has also added the ability to watch video in 0.5x, 1.5x, and 2x playback speeds as well.

Other improvements include timestamp linking, screen sharing with audio, and more. You can read all about what's new in the latest Telegram over on the Telegram blog, too.

The newly updated Telegram is available for download now. Everyone else can grab it via the App Store — it's completely free and is a great option for those who want to talk to people over in the world of Android. Telegram was already one of the best iPhone apps for staying in touch with people and these new changes just drive that point home further.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.