Oliver Mitchell

WhatsApp Implements Hi-Quality Image Sharing

One of the problems with sending images via messengers is quality. They all tend to compress media to save traffic, so in most of them, the image received is not the same as the image sent. WhatsApp had this issue as well until recently. But soon, it will let you share images in original quality.

What does it mean for users? The original size photos will take more data – sometimes significantly more. The sender will not notice this, as the app compresses the picture in the background. The receiving side, respectively, will have to download a smaller picture and useless data. 

Like most experimental features, this one will first appear in WhatsApp Beta for Android. The choice before the sender will highlight the benefit of each option. “Best Quality” is to be chosen when quality matters. “Data Saver” will save both the data you use and the time it takes to send the image.

Along with these two, there will also be an “Auto” option that comes as recommended. What’s this Auto? Probably the app will detect whether you use mobile data or Wi-Fi and rate the connection speed and choose according to these factors. Can it also request and consider the recipient’s connection data? Given that WhatsApp is Facebook-owned, why not?

Not that the Hi-Quality option was completely absent before that. But so far, users need to save pictures as documents to avoid quality loss, like they still do in, say, Telegram. And this turns out quite inconvenient, especially on mobile devices where picture viewing is integrated as a system feature. With the “Best Quality” option, users get the best of both worlds. 

Probably the new feature will be present in the next update of WhatsApp Beta for Android. Those on iOS or sticking to release versions only will have to wait until it makes it to the release. It’s a social app, after all, and it’s all about worldwide sharing.