WhatsApp is the world’s most popular chat client but everyone knows it has issues sending and receiving media files. Up to now, the platform automatically compresses any video content and photos you send resulting in a mixed-bag experience for content. That is changing as the platform is adding the option to send “HD” content in the form of photos and videos.
Sure, this option isn’t the greatest given how most phones take even higher-resolution photos but this is at least a start.
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From today, users on WhatsApp will be able to select “HD” when sending content. When you select a photo or video from your camera roll, you should see an “HD” button at the top of your screen. Once you select this option a “Standard Quality” and “HD Quality” option should come up.
Meta says HD Quality retains a resolution of up to 4096 x 2692 compared to the Standard Quality of 1600 x 1052. However, there are no specifics on how compressed these images get when being sent on the platform.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to have the latest version of WhatsApp to see this new option. Meta says these updates are rolling out today and should be available for most users.
Up to now, users have been unable to change the quality of photos and videos sent through WhatsApp. A workaround was to send a photo as a “document” which retained its quality. This will unlikely change in the future if you want to send a high-resolution image. HD is better than “Standard Quality” but it will still compress your camera roll images to some degree.
WhatsApp has added a number of features in the past few weeks. These include audio calls of up to 32 people which is currently in beta testing.
