Android app should follow Material Design, not iOS patterns
The recent Android update (12.4.*) introduces design elements directly ported from iOS, creating a non-native experience that ignores platform conventions and reduces usability.
Core issues:
Platform-inappropriate navigation
The fixed bottom tab bar (Chats / Contacts / Settings / Profile) wastes screen space on rarely used sections. Settings and Profile are accessed only occasionally, yet occupy permanent space. This reduces chat visibility and forces extra scrolling—especially problematic on smaller screens and during one-handed use.
Material Design addresses this with navigation drawers or contextual bottom sheets, showing relevant actions only when needed instead of always displaying everything.
Reduced information density
New borders, spacing, and visual effects in chat lists add visual clutter without functional benefit. Users scan dozens of chats regularly—extra noise slows this down and reduces the number of visible conversations per screen.
Inconsistency with platform expectations
Android users expect Material Design patterns because they are consistent across the OS and well-designed apps. Deviating from these creates cognitive friction and makes Telegram feel like a lazy cross-platform port rather than a thoughtfully designed Android app.
Why this matters:
iOS enforces Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines through App Store review. Android does not mandate Material Design, but this freedom should be used to create better native experiences—not to copy-paste iOS designs that don’t fit the platform.
Suggestion:
Design the Android UI according to Material Design principles. Use platform-appropriate navigation patterns, respect Android’s visual language, and optimize for different screen sizes and interaction models expected by Android users.
The desktop and web versions also deserve platform-native designs or their own Telegram style rather than a universal iOS aesthetic.
100% agree. This update brings no more convenience or no more "useful" features compared to the previous, aka normal android design. Please give us an option to turn back our normal design
Sherlock Holmes
Last decent version is v12.1.1, and I do not plan to upgrade from it unless the design is brought to it's origin. Telegram's official Android client became a bunch of awful iOS style trash. Design is very important in user applications, such a move makes you lose users, e.g. I plan to move my activities to a rival platform (Signal) and I do also invite everybody else to do the same, as alternative telegram clients aren't as trustworthy as the official one
B
BrEl
Why change what was good as it was ??? Change for the sake of change. No one asked for this sh.t
К
Кирилл Черный
Please make this revertable. The change is awful and designer, who approved this for prod usage should be fired
DPR
Fuck liquid glASS
☁
☁️'5623
Android should feel like Android—or better yet, Linux. Stop mimicking iOS. We’re here for the platform’s own identity, not a knockoff.
Please fire a man who agreed this bullshit. Upvote, horrible ux decision, had to revert to prev.version
T
Tao Ying
this is the worst Ui design i have ever seen. Whoever suggested and approved this should be fired
Dmitrii
The first thing I did was install the 12.1 version, which doesn't have all this shit from iOS. Don't you know Google is moving to Material Expressive? Why choose iOS guidelines for the system, primarily designed for Material?
ب
بهرام
It's lame and add unnecessary steps for doing anything.
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