Telegram, the messaging giant with 900 million users, founder and CEO Pavel Durov announced today (19th) that Telegram has launched the biggest update ever for Mini Apps, called "Mini Apps 2.0", introducing a series of new features, including:
Full screen mode, home screen shortcuts, device motion tracking, geolocation access, media sharing, document creation, gift sending, subscription tiers, custom emoji status, and more. Durov highlighted 3 major updates:
Full Screen Mode
Mini Apps can now be used in full screen mode, vertically or horizontally, allowing apps to support more game types through expanded gestures and interfaces, like FPS games such as Doom. Mini Apps can now also read device processor and RAM information to optimize performance and support gyroscope controls.
Adding Home Screen Shortcuts
Users can now place direct shortcuts to specific Mini Apps on their device's home screen. For example, with the official Catizen demo, you can click "Add to Home Screen" in the top right menu of the Mini App to add a shortcut to the home screen.
Device Motion Tracking
Mini Apps can now receive information about device motion, allowing them to add unique motion controls to games or build immersive VR experiences. Durov gave the example of Major's maze game Mini App, where you can tilt your phone to guide a rolling ball. In Cosmogram, players can tilt their phone to control the flight direction and shooting path of their spacecraft.
Mini Apps 2.0 Other Updates
Telegram Mini Apps now also include the following features:
- Generate downloadable documents or audio files
- Access geolocation: Users can share their location with Mini Apps, allowing developers to create location-based games like Pokemon Go and other services.
- Update in-app emoji status: Telegram Premium users can set emoji status from within Mini Apps; Mini Apps can also integrate APIs from other services to update user emoji status when they start playing music, open a book, or watch a movie; or when users are at work or out of the office, apps with location permissions can update user emoji status.
- Send gifts: Apps can send gifts to users using the Telegram Stars they've earned.
- Subscription plans: Developers can create tiered subscription plans for Mini Apps through Telegram Stars to monetize their apps.
- Media sharing: Users can directly share media content from Mini Apps to any chat, including sending referral codes, custom stickers, and more.
The Telegram Mini Apps 2.0 upgrade shows the company is working to build a WeChat-like super app, hoping to attract more Web2 developers from the Google Android and Apple iOS ecosystems to showcase its ambition to become the largest Web3 gateway.
Further Reading: Telegram Launches Internal Currency 'Stars'! Can Buy Mini Apps Goods and Redeem for TRON
