Pavel Durov has officially launched a fully native Telegram app for Apple Watch. Starting June 9, 2026, the client became available worldwide through the App Store, requiring only an update of the Telegram app on a paired iPhone. This marks Telegram’s first official Apple Watch app since 2022, when the previous native version was removed.

• Telegram for Apple Watch is a standalone app, not just a smartphone companion
• Supports text messages, voice notes, stickers, and channel browsing
• Works independently on watches with eSIM or Wi-Fi, no iPhone nearby needed

Complete Telegram experience on Apple Watch

The new Telegram app for Apple Watch delivers a complete messaging experience tailored to the watch’s smaller screen. Users can send and receive text chats, voice messages, and stickers, plus browse channels directly from their wrist. The app mirrors your entire list of chats, channels, and folders from the main Telegram account.

Technically, it’s a fully autonomous app. The first launch requires verification-just like when logging in on a new device-adding the watch as an active session on your Telegram account. This reflects Telegram’s multi-device setup, where each device independently connects to your account.

This autonomy means Telegram keeps running on your Apple Watch as long as it has a cellular eSIM or Wi-Fi connection-even if your iPhone is left behind. watchOS has supported standalone apps for a while, and Telegram is now taking full advantage of that capability.

Telegram’s Apple Watch app returns after four years

Telegram first launched an Apple Watch app back in 2015 with Telegram 3.0, bringing watchOS support early. However, the official app was pulled in 2022, leaving users stuck with system notifications or third-party clients like TGWatch.

The comeback was carefully staged. About three weeks prior to the official release, Telegram offered a beta version called Telegram Watch for test users, revealing it as a standalone client instead of a stripped-down companion app. The final version rolled out for everyone on June 9. To get it on your watch, update Telegram on your iPhone via the App Store.

Apple Watch apps have become more capable thanks to watchOS’s steady improvements for autonomous operation. Telegram’s return here means serious competition for messaging apps that mostly rely on phone companions. With Apple Watch increasingly used as a standalone device-especially with cellular models-having a full-fledged Telegram app could drive more engagement from wrist-level chats.

Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see if Telegram leverages watchOS-specific features such as quick replies, complications, or voice dictation enhancements. Whether other popular messaging platforms will match Telegram’s step toward fully independent smartwatch clients could shape the future of wearables as primary communication tools.