It goes without saying that WhatsApp is one of the easiest ways to send photos to friends and family after a day spent outdoors. But the thing is, when you send an image through the app, it goes through a lot of processing. And during this processing, size, resolution and, most importantly, quality degrade.
With the latest update, everything has changed. WhatsApp finally lets you send photos in HD resolution. This means that the processing that happens when you send images through the app will no longer affect the quality as much.
About sharing HD photos on WhatsApp
According to WhatsApp's announcement, the “HD” photo sharing option means that images can be up to 4096 x 2692 pixels in size. But even with this update, you can still send standard quality photos. In this case, the processing will resize to the normal resolution of 1600 x 1052. However, resolution is not the only thing that matters.
What really made WhatsApp a less-than-great photo sharing tool was this compression. Standard resolution was heavily compressed to keep the image file size smaller. While WhatsApp hasn't officially announced how much HD photo compression is, it compresses less than standard mode.
This means that the file will still be smaller than the original. Thus, WhatsApp makes it easier for users to view and download sent photos.
After the update, you will see a new HD icon when you share a photo. By clicking on it, you can choose one of two quality options. Regardless of which one you choose, the images will be end-to-end encrypted.
Wondering when you'll get the update for HD photos on WhatsApp? It is currently available to all users worldwide. However, it may take a few weeks for it to appear on all devices. And after that, WhatsApp will start working on the HD video feature.
