Telegram 5.16 and 6.0 beta builds are out with folders, channel stats, and extra UI polish

· 4 min read

After over a month-long hiatus, Telegram's next major release has finally hit beta on Android, and we got our hands on almost, if not, all the features that are to be promoted to the stable branch in the next few weeks. Initial build numbers showed that 5.16 would be the next big update, but a followup beta scraped that in favor of version 6.0. Alas, there are loads of changes and feature additions and that's why going with v6 seems reasonable.

Telegram Beta
Telegram is the one and only messaging application on Android offering a simpleand easy to use, quick user experience, with full end-to-end-encryption,unlimited storage, and no pesky ads. Apart from one-on-one and group messaging,you can create your own channels and broadcast content to your foll…

Two new noteworthy features as well as various design changes across the whole UI of the app do ship with this update. Let's dive into the important stuff headfirst.

Folders

Testing out the freshly baked “folders” functionality, indeed, it does have a lot going on for it. For example, you can create up to ten folders for your chats and easily switch between each folder tab from the home page. All that will be synced up automatically with your other devices. In addition to that, you can edit them on the go with a long-press on the tab title - renaming and reordering included. By default, users with over a hundred chats are offered to use the folders function, but there is another way of activating it. Simply click on the deep link below and you'll be redirected there. In case it doesn't work, you can copy and paste it to your saved messages and try again.

Folder settings deep link: tg://settings/folders

Channel statistics

Reported by Telegram Beta, unofficial channel statistics are available only on a Telegram test server as of now. To what kind of data you'll have access to, here is the complete list:

  • Enabled Notifications
  • Followers
  • Growth
  • Interactions
  • Language
  • New Followers by Source
  • Views by Hours
  • Views by Source

QR code logins

In the Devices section of the settings, there is a brand new animated promo for the QR code sign in feature with instructions on how to use.

Refined toolbar menu

The bottom toolbar received a fresh coat of paint like colored action icons and new feature suggestions (see attached screenshots).

Overhauled settings page

The settings page also benefits from a mild revamp in version 6. Here are the new sections added, alongside a few icon touch-ups:

  • Folders
  • Ask a Question
  • Telegram FAQ
  • Privacy Policy

GIFs tab

And last but not least, the user/channel/group info section gets a dedicated tab for GIFs so its easier to distinguish them.


Automatic updates

One additional cool feature that was introduced in the previous Telegram update is a new app distribution flow for beta apps. Now you can snooze an update notification for a day instead of getting reminded the next time you launch the app. More so, downloading updates continue in the background.

Random dice animated emoji

Now you can send a 🎲 emoji to a chat or channel and Telegram will generate a random number that will be visible to everyone.
You can get a random number once (common will all chat participants). To get different number, you need to roll the dice again.


Here is our most recent article explaining in detail each step in becoming a Telegram beta tester:

How to become a beta tester for Telegram apps on Android (Telegram, Telegram X and Plus Messenger)
Updated on March 2020. Currently, there are three official Telegram clients for Android - Telegram, Telegram X and Plus Messenger. All of them have a beta program but they are distributed in different ways.

Telegram 6.0 will definitely be a huge release. Let's hope the current health-related situation around the world doesn't affect their release schedule.

Credits: @tgtester, @tgbeta