Telegram's MacBook battery-saving update is in the App Store now

MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) on wooden desk with green background
(Image credit: Future)

An updated Telegram app could be the difference between your MacBook lasting long enough to save that document or leaving you in a pit of despair as everything is lost forever.

The updated Telegram, which can be downloaded for free from the App Store right now, features a new Power Saving Mode that is actually three things in one.

All of those three things promise to help people make their batteries last longer, whether they're using Apple's very best MacBook Pro, or something a little longer in the tooth.

Battery for days

Machines like the 16-inch MacBook Pro already have battery life for days, but the updated Telegram hopes to help people eke out as much power as possible. It does that with a new Power Saving Mode, which is actually a three-pronged approach.

Things start out with a switch that disables resource-heavy processes. Then there are individual settings for whether things like GIFs and videos automatically play. Animated emojis are included there, too.

Finally, Telegram says that Power Saving Mode will automatically turn itself on based on the current battery charge state of the Mac that it's running on. So the theory is that you might not need to think about managing your battery quite so much — Telegram will do it for you instead.

If you already have Telegram installed you might have the updated version already, especially if you have automatic updates enabled. If not you can pick Telegram up from the App Store right now. And it's of course free, too.

Telegram is one of the best instant messaging apps available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac right now and we'd definitely suggest checking it out if you need to communicate with other people on non-Apple devices. WhatsApp is another good option, too.

These new features are a welcome addition for those on portable Macs who want to make sure their batteries last as long as possible — get the update installed onto your own Mac ASAP if you want to benefit from Power Saving Mode yourself.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.