Telegram CEO criticizes Apple of delaying a significant upgrade
According to a statement from Telegram CEO and creator Pavel Durov, the company’s next update has been stuck in Apple’s app approval for two weeks “without explanation” (via MacRumors). He said the upgrade, which has not yet been authorised, is “about to revolutionise how people express themselves in messaging”
As part of a larger critique of app store business practices, Durov addressed the mystery delay. He claims that the “obscure” app approval process “imposed on all mobile apps by the tech monopolies” is discouraging the development of Telegram. Continuing, he says, “If Telegram, one of the top 10 most popular apps globally, is receiving this treatment, one can only imagine the difficulties experienced by smaller app developers.”
It is not clear what the update entails, and neither Apple nor Telegram responded quickly to requests for clarification. Durov has been critical of Apple’s app approval procedures before. After Russia banned Telegram in 2018, Durov said that Apple stopped approving updates to the iOS app. Apple finally approved a fix a day after Durov blogged about the problem.
Recently, Telegram introduced its Premium subscription for $4.99 per month, which grants users access to additional features such as increased storage space for uploads and download speeds, a voice-to-text function, custom emoji reactions, and more.