Telegram has brought back its Wear OS app after five years, giving smartwatch users a richer messaging experience while also introducing AI-powered moderation tools, browser improvements, and major upgrades for bots.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- Telegram has relaunched its Wear OS app after discontinuing support more than five years ago.
- Users can now access chats, send messages, listen to voice notes, and watch videos directly from their smartwatch.
- The update also introduces AI-powered guardian bots, enhanced bot formatting capabilities, and browser improvements.
- Telegram is expanding its ecosystem beyond smartphones with new features for wearables, groups, and developers.
What Happened?
Telegram has announced a major platform update that marks the return of its dedicated Wear OS smartwatch app, bringing the messaging service back to Android-based smartwatches after a five year absence. The update also arrives shortly after Telegram released a new Apple Watch app, signaling a renewed focus on wearable devices.
Alongside the smartwatch launch, Telegram has introduced several new features across its platform, including AI-powered moderation tools for groups, expanded bot capabilities, browser enhancements, and updates to polls and the Android chat interface.
Telegram is now on Wear OS.
— Pavel Durov (@durov) June 11, 2026
Owners of Galaxy Watch, Pixel Watch, Xiaomi Watch and other smartwatches — enjoy! ☕️ pic.twitter.com/Rmvel99ziW
Telegram Makes a Comeback on Wear OS
One of the biggest highlights of the update is the return of Telegram to Wear OS smartwatches. The company previously offered a smartwatch app but discontinued support more than five years ago.
The comeback is particularly notable for Galaxy Watch users. When Telegram last supported Android smartwatches, Samsung’s wearable lineup was still running Tizen. As a result, this marks the first official Telegram smartwatch app available for Galaxy Watch devices running Wear OS. The app is also available for devices such as the Pixel Watch.
Telegram says the smartwatch app delivers an almost complete messaging experience directly from the wrist. Users can:
- Browse chats and media
- Read messages of any length
- Send and receive text messages
- Send and listen to voice messages
- Watch videos
- View photos
- Mute chats
- Pin important conversations
- Delete messages
Telegram highlighted the convenience of staying connected without constantly reaching for a smartphone, making the smartwatch app useful for quick communication throughout the day.
More Features Coming Soon
While the Wear OS app already includes a wide range of capabilities, some features are still being rolled out.
Currently, viewing locations and sending stickers are available on the Apple Watch version, while Wear OS users will need to wait a little longer. Telegram says these features are expected to arrive in a future update.
The company jokingly acknowledged the feature differences between its Android and iOS development teams and suggested both versions will soon gain feature parity.
AI-Powered Guardian Bots Arrive for Groups
Telegram is also introducing a new generation of AI -powered guardian bots aimed at helping group administrators manage communities more effectively.
These bots can be assigned administrator privileges and assist with tasks such as:
- Reviewing join requests
- Screening new members
- Verifying applicants
- Moderating conversations
According to Telegram, the guardian bots can even use interactive mini app interfaces to evaluate users before granting them access to private groups.
The feature reflects the growing use of AI tools for community management and moderation across online platforms.
Bots Get a Major Upgrade
Developers building Telegram bots are getting access to significantly more advanced formatting options.
Bots can now create highly formatted messages that support:
- Image collages
- Tables
- Headings
- Nested blockquotes
- Anchors
- Collapsible sections
- Footnotes
- Mathematical formulas
- Superscript and subscript formatting
Telegram has also increased the maximum length of bot generated messages to 32,768 characters, allowing AI-powered services and other automated tools to provide much more detailed responses in a single message.
Browser and Poll Improvements
The update includes several enhancements to Telegram’s built in browser as well.
Users can now open and view Markdown files directly within Telegram without relying on third party applications. The browser also allows users to choose how links open through a long press action.
Telegram has introduced new controls that let users decide whether specific websites should always open inside Telegram or in an external browser.
The company noted that its browser does not store browsing history, providing an additional privacy benefit.
Polls have also become more flexible with support for links inside poll options, allowing creators and community managers to provide extra context directly within voting choices.
Android Interface Gets Refreshed
Android users will notice a redesigned chat interface featuring updated header bars. The changes help display more conversations on screen at once, improving navigation and making better use of available screen space.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
I think the return of Telegram’s Wear OS app is the most important part of this update. Smartwatches have become much more capable over the past few years, and users increasingly expect their favorite apps to work across every device they own. Telegram’s decision to return to Wear OS while also investing in AI moderation tools and advanced bot features shows the company is focusing on building a broader ecosystem rather than just a messaging app. For smartwatch users, especially Galaxy Watch owners, this update finally brings a feature rich Telegram experience directly to the wrist.
