If you’ve ever sent or earned photos or videos via WhatsApp, you’ve probably been frustrated by its abysmal quality. The chat app reduces them to a really egregious degree. But a new update to the iOS app fixes this problem. In spite of everything, it allows you to share photos and videos with total quality.
The update is rolling out lately for the iOS app, but still for the Android app. . .
When you send a photo or video via iMessage, recipients get the full-res file. Not so with WhatsApp: To save bandwidth, the app reduces the resolution of both, to a degree that often makes them look terrible.
WABetaInfo found that this is still becoming the most recent edition of the iOS app being rolled out.
In the article about the WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.23.1.74 update, we announced that WhatsApp was introducing a feature to send photos and videos as documents to preserve their original quality, and it was available to a limited number of users. This enhancement finally allows users to quickly share photos and videos with their original quality, without the need of following multiple steps.
A few days ago, WhatsApp has released the 23.24.73 update for iOS on the App Store. Thanks to the official changelog provided by WhatsApp, we discovered that this feature is finally rolling out to everyone with the latest update!
The “multiple steps” referred to the previous solution of converting a photo or video’s record extension to some other type of supported record (such as PDF) and having the recipient replace it again.
The app still defaults to down-rezzing. To send the full-resolution version, hit the + button in the usual way, but do not select Photo. Instead, tap Document, then select Choose Photo or Video from there.
Note that the recipient doesn’t see a preview of the photo or video when sending this method; You only see the name of the record.
The site notes that only the iOS app is getting this feature for now. This is unusual, in that new WhatsApp features normally roll out to Android first.
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Ben Lovejoy is a British and European technician at 9to5Mac. He is known for his op-eds and magazines, in which he explores his experience with Apple products over time for a more comprehensive review. He also writes fiction, with two tech thrillers, some sci-fi shorts, and a romantic comedy!