Telegram Premium officially launched and has some new features but probably isn'...

Telegram Premium officially launched and has some new features but probably isn't worth the money

When we first became aware that Telegram was likely to offer a premium features package, there was some excitement. Telegram Premium has rolled out and for what you’re getting, it just doesn’t seem worth the money.

Don’t think that we’re against the premium model, it’s important when you find an app or service you like to support the developers. Sadly though, the feature set and the interoperability in some areas to non-paying users $7.99 a month, or $95.99 per year, it is just too much to ask. An important point of note is that Telegram has stated previously, that the introduction of premium features will not detract from the free usage tier.

What you get

There are a few cool features, such as chat management allowing you to filter your chats into tabs to easily find them. You get bigger file uploads, faster downloads (currently they’re limited by the server) and, other limits have been doubled. This covers the number of channels, folders and chats you can have active and allows an extra account to be added.

The removal of adverts on public channels is, of course, a huge bonus!

Beyond this though, the new features are cosmetic and offer little by way of a feature addition to users. Particularly as it’s likely that free users won’t be able to see or directly respond to them. Features like animated profile pictures, badges and app icons don’t add anything to the experience. For the full list of features, check out the Telegram Blog and let us know what you would pay for Telegram’s Premium features. Amongst the Ausdroid team, there’s a feeling that up to $3.99 per month would work well, with a cap of $50 per year for the premium features.