WhatsApp will finally let you share photos in high-definition (HD). Days after it was spotted in beta version of the app, Meta-owned WhatsApp, has confirmed that it is ready to ship the feature to end-users. CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Instagram to officially kick-off the proceedings.
“Sharing photos on WhatsApp just got an upgrade,” Zuckerberg announced via his Meta broadcast channel, adding that “Now you can send in HD.”
So, what does this mean for users? Well, WhatsApp until now allowed users to send photos in what was called “standard” quality, i.e., 1600 x 1052p. That option isn’t going away, by the way. Only now, you’ll get a new “HD” option or toggle when sharing photos letting you send higher-resolution (HD) photos to the tune of 4096 x 2692p.
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It doesn’t really mean that your photos will look more life-like because WhatsApp doesn’t factor in compression in today’s announcement but we can surely expect some improvements overall. The standard option is probably being retained so you don’t end up filling up your device’s storage quickly if you use the native photo-saving option.
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Popular WhatsApp tracker website had first spotted the functionality sometime in June when it was reported to be made available for users on beta version of the app (version 23.11.0.76 for iOS, version 2.23.12.13 for Android). WhatsApp, as it turns out, had been testing it all this time and it is now ready for prime-time use. HD photos shared on WhatsApp will be end-to-end encrypted by default.
WhatsApp notes that the support for HD photos will be rolled out to all users globally over the next few weeks and it will be available across Android, iOS, as well as on the web. That’s not all, as WhatsApp has confirmed that it is also working on bringing support for sending HD videos on the platform soon, though an exact timeline of launch is yet to be revealed.
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