Telegram Web is testing two new ‘Material Design’ interfaces: Here's what they look like

Telegram is one of the most feature-packed messaging services available today, and the company behind the service keeps adding new ones along the way. While the apps for Android and iOS has seen several design improvements over the past couple of years, the web client has not been given the same treatment. It appears that the messaging service is finally working on not one, but two new Material Design inspired versions of Telegram Web.

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The two new redesigns are not very easy to tell apart, but appear to be two distinct versions of the web interface that are being worked on to eventually replace the existing web interface. Both versions of the web interface are currently accessible to users on the web, and were first spotted by DroidMaze, on the Telegram apps section on the official website under the Web Apps section. Let’s take a look at what the new interfaces look like.

The first redesign is dubbed WebK, which looks like it still requires a bit of work on the design front as some icons are missing or incorrectly applied, while others seem like they’re in the wrong place – it does have a nice blur effect for chat backgrounds and a nice rounded chat bubble design. Meanwhile, the second redesign is reportedly referred to as WebZ, which appears to be more complete, looks quite similar to the WebK variant, including the rounded chat bubbles – although it is missing the strong background blur.

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Both redesigns were supposedly picked out of a contest to work on a simplified web version of Telegram without using third-party UI frameworks, according to the report. Interestingly, when we used the old version of the Telegram web interface with both redesigns worked seamlessly and notifications arrived on time. However, the version numbers for each of them were different. The original Telegram web interface is on version 0.7.0, while WebK is on version 0.4.0 and WebZ is currently on version 1.0 – which appears to be the latest version of the apps.

One of the biggest improvements over the old and outdated design is the solid rounded chat bubbles and the centered chat window, all of which seem inspired by Google’s latest Material Design guidelines. The new redesign also includes slick new material design animations while switching chat folders (which are now accessible via the web interface) while the web app no longer displays a banner nagging you to install the desktop version of the app. It appears that Telegram is finally working on a modern interface for its web app, which going by its existing design, is long overdue.