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.
The new floating UI elements just look terrible on android, I can't imagine they actually look good on iOS either. It's especially bad in a chat window, where the back button looks like an avatar and the chat title looks like a chat message bubble, so the header just looks like it's a glitched out message overlapping the other messages. Terrible design, whoever came up with it.
Terrible design update. Too much visual garbage. Now we have 3-4 bubbles on top. 3 bubbles on botom. Why? Interface should be clear. Why are they trying to make everything round?! Nobody likes this round shit.
C
Citizen Erased
At least make it possible to switch to classic UI that was used for Android application for years.
Arthur
Those glass bubbles are disgusting. Let us go back to a solid bar on the top and nothing at the bottom.
S
Sarah 🐝
This, and the devs also replied to me in a very rude way when I wrote to them that I do not want the new design! I have an Android device, why the hell am I forced to have the horrible Liquid Glass design? It's nonsense
ITDimk
They don't want us to use unofficial clients, but they also make an official client look terrible. I can disable liquid glass, but i can't disable over-bubbling and it's getting worse I met 0 people who likes the update
only Pixels have Material design 3, and there are also similar elements appearing there, like a navbar in the form of a circle that is not connected to the screen, there is just no liquid glass effect (as in Telegram by default, you have to enable it yourself). this design fits perfectly into the style of Samsung now, and Samsung is one of the main vendors with Android.
false. use monogram, exteragram or telegram x. liquid glass is turned off by default, and bubble navbar is already everywhere, even in material design 3. old hamburger menu is bad for big screens, and it used only for rare cases, and yes, in all android UIs too, not for the logically important things for a messenger, like contacts, profile, settings, calls
Nobody likes this round shit.
I can disable liquid glass, but i can't disable over-bubbling and it's getting worse
I met 0 people who likes the update
only Pixels have Material design 3, and there are also similar elements appearing there, like a navbar in the form of a circle that is not connected to the screen, there is just no liquid glass effect (as in Telegram by default, you have to enable it yourself). this design fits perfectly into the style of Samsung now, and Samsung is one of the main vendors with Android.
> the devs also replied to me in a very rude way
What did you expect then?
false. use monogram, exteragram or telegram x. liquid glass is turned off by default, and bubble navbar is already everywhere, even in material design 3. old hamburger menu is bad for big screens, and it used only for rare cases, and yes, in all android UIs too, not for the logically important things for a messenger, like contacts, profile, settings, calls
Missing features, potential of getting compromised, compability issues here and there