Telegram now has a new update on Apple Store, and it is packed full of emoji features that premium subscribers would love to use. But before the new update went live on Apple Store, Apple management and Telegram went into a short dispute that was resolved after Apple had its way.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov complained bitterly that a new update had been submitted to App Store for two weeks and that it was not reviewed or approved. There was massive media coverage of the complaint and Apple acted on it the following day by reviewing the update and asking Telegram to remove an animated emoji featured called Telemoji, which was an improvement on Apple’s original emoji feature.
“After extensive media coverage of my previous post, Apple got back to us with a demand to water down our pending Telegram update by removing Telemoji — higher quality vector-animated versions of the standard emoji,” Durov wrote on Friday. “This is a puzzling move on Apple’s behalf because Telemoji would have brought an entirely new dimension to its static low-resolution emoji and would have significantly enriched their ecosystem.”
Apple approved the new Telegram update after the controversial “higher quality vector-animated” Telemoji was removed. Durov said Telemoji would have “significantly enriched their ecosystem” and inspired “an entirely new dimension” to Apple’s static and low emoji pack. But analysts believe Apple took issue with Telemoji because it derived from an iOS design that Apple owned, hence the request for its removal.
Telemoji is only usable by Telegram’s premium users, even though all users can receive them, but not send them. Premium subscribers pay $4.99 every month on the iOS platform (Apple device owners), but free users can also use Telemoji if they save them after receiving them via messages. In the new update, Telegram has also made it possible for users to access custom emojis, GIFs, and stickers via separate tabs.
Apple has not responded to queries over the initial delay in approving Telegram’s update, and over the Telemoji removal request before the update’s subsequent approval.