Widgets as a class have not appeared on Android for a long time. Despite the fact that Google did not remove them from their operating systems, many of us stopped using them, probably at the beginning of the last decade. Not only did they often not bring any practical benefit, they also loaded the desktop so that it began to slow down, regardless of whether you had a flagship or some kind of public employee. However, last year Apple reimagined widgets and made Android users want them again. And since this element has become relevant again, it should not be surprising that the developers have also pulled themselves together.
Telegram for Android received an update numbered 7.5, the main innovation of which was support for widgets. Now users can bring to the desktop a thumbnail of an application with chats, channels or groups to which they want to have quick access, and access them without launching the application.
How to enable Telegram widget
For the convenience of users, the developers have proposed two types of widgets: 2×2 and 4×2. These numbers represent the number of desktop icon slots that the widget will occupy. The first will be square and will occupy 2 slots horizontally and 2 vertically, and the second will be rectangular and will occupy 4 and 2 slots, respectively.
- Install the latest version of Telegram for Android;
- Press your finger on the desktop and select “Widgets”;
There are two sizes of widgets: 4×2 and 2×2
- In the list provided, select Telegram and the size of the widget;
- Select chats for the widget and click OK.
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Depending on the size of the widget you choose, its content will change as well. If you select the 4 × 2 widget, the chat icon, the author of the last message and even part of it will appear in the window. But in the 2×2 widget, only the chat logo and a sticker by the number of missed messages will be visible. At the same time, you can click both there and here to get into the chat and read the missed message.
Telegram chats on the desktop
Before writing an article, I used both the one and the other widget, and came to the conclusion that, firstly, this thing is completely optional and of little use, and, secondly, if you use it, then only in the very compact version. Well, see for yourself.
Left – large widget, right – small
Obviously, the widget is made in order to go to the main chats right from the desktop. In any case, he didn’t suit me for anything else. It does not allow you to reply to the last message, does not have an auxiliary menu called on hold, and does not display the entire message, if it is long. As a result, he has only inconveniences:
- Incoming messages can be seen by strangers;
- Takes up a lot of space and attracts all the attention;
- More or less convenient when using only 2 chats;
- Does not allow you to answer the interlocutor directly.
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It might seem that a 2×2 widget would be even more useless. But this is not entirely true – at least, if you do not demand too much of him. With the help of the widget, you can bring to your desktop 4 favorite contacts, which you refer to most often, and proceed to dialogue with them simply by pressing one single button. This will at least save you a little time.
However, for myself, I decided that I would not use either one or the other. After all, I have a lot more chats that I turn to. From this point of view, folders are much more efficient – thanks to them, you can catalog all chats, groups and channels into separate tabs and conveniently switch between them depending on new messages. The widget does nothing of this, severely limiting you in interacting with your contacts.
