One of the main downsides of sending photos through WhatsApp is the processing that goes on, lowering their size, resolution, and quality significantly (and very visibly). This, however, is finally going to be a thing of the past. At least the low resolution aspect, that is. Way overdue, but finally here, are “HD photos”.
In WhatsApp speak, “HD” in this case means up to 4096 x 2692 in resolution. You also still have the ‘standard’ quality option for whatever reason, which will resize everything to 1600 x 1052. Resolution is one thing, compression is another – and WhatsApp has stayed mum on the latter, not revealing how much it will apply even to those “HD” photos. Still, at least they will now be higher-resolution, that will still make them look better.
There’s a new HD icon, and when you press it you’ll be able to select between the aforementioned two quality presets. All of the images will still be end-to-end encrypted, HD or not.
The new feature is rolling out to all users worldwide currently, but the rollout is expected to take a few weeks to reach everyone. Support for “HD” videos will follow soon after.
