No more receiving low quality photos through WhatsApp. Previously, the Meta app reduced the quality of media files to make transfers faster. However, an update changed everything, allowing send images in HD quality.
In this tutorial we will show you how you can make photos, that you want to send through the instant messaging app, have higher quality from your iPhone. You will no longer have to look for alternative ways to send quality photos when sharing them with friends or family.
Send photos in high definition on WhatsApp on iOS
To be able to send HD images from Whatsapp from your iPhone, the steps you must follow are the following:
- Open the app Whatsapp.
- Enter in the group or chat individual where you want to send the HD image.
- Then, click on the clip icon to send files.
- In the menu that appears you have two posibilities:
- Camera: to take a photo at the same moment. If you choose this option, capture as you normally would.
- Gallery- To use an image that you already have stored on your device. In this other case, search the folders for the desired image.
- Now, once you have chosen the image that you want to send by WhatsApp in HD, you will see that a preview and editing options (paint, add text, cut out, etc.) in the upper area. You have to click on the HD icon.
- At this point, a menu is displayed Quality of multimedia files. Select the quality with which photos and videos are sent. Here you have two options:
- Standard Quality. Faster shipping, but the file must be smaller. *(default mode before update and current)
- HD quality. Shipping is slower, but the file can be 6 times larger. *(option after last year's update, allowing better image qualities)
- You choose HD quality and send the image by clicking on the green triangle.
- You will see that it has been sent in HD because the image will appear in the chat and the HD mark will appear in the lower left corner.
In this way, the receiver will achieve an HD image of better quality than the standard ones. You can do the same for your videos, following the same steps as for photos.
The HD button is not active: what do I do?
It is possible that when you decide to send images or videos, mainly from the Gallery, it doesn't give you the possibility to use HD quality. In these cases, the HD icon will appear in a dull gray tone, and not white as when it is available. In fact, if you click on it, a pop-up window will appear with the message:
«It cannot be configured in HD. This multimedia file does not have HD resolution. »
As WhatsApp tells you, The reason is that that video or image has a quality lower than HD, so nothing can be done, you will have to settle for sending it in native quality. This is very common in images or videos that you download from the Internet, or in some that other WhatsApp users pass to you, since if they did not choose the HD option, the file downloaded to your mobile will be standard quality...
HD vs standard quality content: everything you need to know
Once you know how you can send HD images on your WhatsApp, you also have to know what are the differences between standard quality and HD quality from the app:
- File size:
- Standard- Standard quality images are typically between 100 KB and 500 KB in size, depending on the image's original resolution, original compression, and size.
- HD: They usually have a size greater than 500 KB, and can reach several MB depending on each case.
- Format and codec:
- Standard: They are usually in JPEG format with the JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format) codec.
- HD: They also use JPEG format, but the codec in this case is usually JPEG 2000 or WebP, which allow greater compression without losing so much quality.
- Litigation, Arbitration:
- Standard: It is usually around 1600x1052 pixels.
- HD: it may vary, it is normal for it to be greater than 4096×2692 pixels.
Therefore, unless your connection or the receiver's connection is very slow, there is no reason to send images in standard quality if they are available in HD, as the quality will be significantly higher.
