Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram took to Twitter earlier on to lambaste Apple for the length of time it was taking to mull over the 3.18 Telegram update which brings voice calling functionality to the app. According to the Telegram News channel, the app has been stuck under review for the past 10 days.
In his tweet, Durov wrote:
No reason has been given by Apple as to why the review process is taking so long, according to some estimations, iOS apps are, on average, only put under review for two days. The delay could be Apple having second thoughts about pushing the update given that it is a direct competitor to its own iMessage, but this scenario is unlikely.
Telegram has been testing out voice calling functionality for a few weeks now, allowing anyone to hop onto an alternative network using the beta application. Users can either allow everyone to call them, permit calls only from those on their contact lists, or simply block all incoming calls. There is also an option for blocking individual users from calling.
Update: The delay was likely caused due to export compliance rules in the US.
Source: Pavel Durov on Twitter