Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
At some level this yr, the unthinkable will lastly occur: iPhones will support wealthy communication companies (RCS). This will knock just a few bricks out of the notorious “walled backyard” that forestalls iPhone customers who rely completely on iMessage from successfully speaking with Android customers. While individuals outdoors the United States have already solved this interoperability downside by using platform-agnostic apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, and so forth.), some iPhone customers within the US are so hooked on iMessage that they are going to ostracize family and friends and even refuse up to now somebody who initiates the “inexperienced bubble” of their conversations.Sadly, the inexperienced bubble isn’t going wherever. RCS support, nevertheless, will permit a number of notable new options to work between the native messaging apps of Android telephones and iPhones. These embrace learn receipts, typing indicators, location sharing, and the power to ship high-resolution media.That final one is probably the most notable. Remember again in 2022 when Apple CEO Tim Cook made the fully embarrassing “purchase your mother an iPhone” quip to an iPhone consumer who was asking why they’ll’t share movies with their mother, an Android consumer? Well, RCS support will lastly resolve that challenge, and that particular person gained’t want to purchase their mother an iPhone. When that every one went down, I wrote an opinion piece about how Cook’s assertion was past terrible from an environmental viewpoint but additionally from the viewpoint of its personal customers, considered one of whom was bodily proper there in entrance of him telling him how a lot they need to talk with their mom successfully!With all this in thoughts — and as a diehard Android consumer who has personally skilled “inexperienced bubble hate” — you possibly can think about how excited I used to be to check out RCS on an iPhone for myself. It’s presently solely obtainable in iOS 18 beta within the US, so it’s not extensively rolled out, however I bought it arrange on my iPhone 12 and began checking what the expertise could be like as soon as Apple rolls it out formally someday later this yr.Unfortunately, in my testing, I discovered there’s going to be an enormous downside, and it’s not Apple’s fault; it’s Google’s.
Google Messages sends super-compressed photographs over RCSEdgar Cervantes / Android AuthorityIn the US, if you happen to’re on Android and utilizing RCS, you’re probably utilizing Google Messages. Although Samsung Messages additionally helps RCS in some places, let’s concentrate on Google’s app for now. We’ll get to Samsung’s in a bit.Although Google Messages might be one of the best messaging app you should use for texting on Android, it sadly compresses the photographs it sends considerably. This shouldn’t be actually information, nevertheless it won’t be one thing you’re conscious of. To catch you up, in 2023, Google added a brand new toggle in Messages’ settings referred to as Send pictures quicker. This is mechanically toggled on and compresses all photographs you ship. To see the toggle for your self, open Messages, faucet your profile avatar, then go to Messages settings, and the toggle would be the first one you see.
Even if you happen to flip off the ‘Send pictures quicker’ setting, Google Messages remains to be closely compressing your outbound photographs.
Here’s an instance of what occurs when you could have this toggled on. The unique picture (captured with a Galaxy S24 Ultra) is on the left, and the picture despatched by Google Messages (acquired by a Pixel 8 Pro) is on the proper. Note how a lot decrease of a decision the acquired picture has, in addition to its important discount in each megapixel rely and file measurement:
Original picture resolutionReceived picture decision
As you possibly can see, the unique 50MP picture was lowered to 1.9MP, slashed right down to a 1,200 x 1,600 decision, and lowered in file measurement by a whopping 98% to only 147KB. Honestly, this isn’t significantly better than what you’d obtain simply sending a photograph as an MMS.Naturally, you’d assume that if you happen to turned off that Send pictures quicker toggle, you’d then ship uncompressed photographs. However, that’s not the case. Check out this second instance under, with the identical setup as above, however with that toggle turned off:
Original picture resolutionReceived picture decision
In this instance, we see much less compression than with that toggle switched on, however we’re nonetheless getting a really, very compressed photograph. As far as file measurement goes, as an alternative of a 98% compression fee, turning off the toggle brings that right down to a 93% compression fee. Wow, a lot decision, so higher.In different phrases, with regards to sending pictures by RCS in Google Messages — even between flagship Android telephones — you could have two decisions: ludicrously compressed or tremendous compressed. This hasn’t been a secret or something, so that you would possibly already know this. I wasn’t conscious it was this unhealthy, although, so I can solely think about not less than a portion of individuals studying this didn’t both.Regardless of whether or not individuals knew about this or not, one factor most customers gained’t know but is that Apple Messages, within the overwhelming majority of circumstances, doesn’t compress photographs when sending them by RCS.
iPhones with RCS support gained’t have this problemRyan Haines / Android AuthorityI did this similar take a look at on my iPhone 12 with iOS 18 beta and RCS support activated. Below on the left, you’ll see the unique picture captured with the iPhone, and subsequent to it, you’ll see the acquired picture on each the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Pixel 8 Pro. Note that nothing modifications:
Original picture detailsImage acquired on Galaxy S24 UltraPicture acquired on Pixel 8 Pro
You would possibly assume the picture measurement is pretty small right here, due to Apple’s HEIC file sort. Perhaps there’s no compression as a result of the file measurement is sufficiently small that it doesn’t matter? I examined this, too, by sending a really massive JPG that I downloaded from the web. It seems that the iPhone will compress huge photographs before they exit, however solely the file measurement is affected, with the megapixel rely and backbone remaining unaffected:
Large picture decision on iPhoneReceived picture on Galaxy S24 UltraAcquired picture on Pixel 8 Pro
I examined this out with different photographs with smaller file sizes and noticed that there’s no compression for photographs underneath round 40MB. In truth, in a single experiment, a 7.8MB downloaded picture got here by at 11MB, so there was some form of decompression occurring there.
Samsung Messages (with the proper settings) would not do this, that means this shouldn’t be an Android downside. It’s a Google Messages downside.
Interestingly, Samsung Messages on Galaxy smartphones — when you’ve got entry to RCS and the correct settings — doesn’t compress despatched photographs both. In areas the place RCS support is on the market on Samsung Messages, you possibly can tweak the app’s settings to ship pictures uncompressed (Settings > Chat settings > Shared picture high quality > Original). When you try this, pictures arrive as marketed, i.e., fully uncompressed.I’d additionally prefer to level out that every one three of my gadgets — the iPhone 12, Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Pixel 8 Pro — have their very own T-Mobile SIMs put in. I assumed that perhaps this was a T-Mobile challenge, however nope: I had Android Authority employees members from across the globe use RCS in Google Messages to ship high-res pictures to my iPhone, and each single one got here by closely compressed.In different phrases, sending ultra-compressed photographs is a Google Messages downside, not an Android, RCS, or service downside.
These experiments show one factor: iPhones won’t ship out compressed RCS photographs, whereas Android telephones on Google Messages will. That’s unhealthy.
So, to summarize, this experiment proves that when Apple Messages customers ship a photograph over RCS, Google Messages customers will get a picture with the identical decision and megapixel rely (and, typically, the identical file measurement) as what was despatched. On the flip aspect, when a Google Messages consumer sends a photograph to an Apple consumer, the photograph that lands on the iPhone shall be shrunk down by as much as 98%.This is a very massive downside, and Google solely has a brief period of time to fix it.
This is Google’s solely probability at a primary impressionRobert Triggs / Android AuthorityIt’s no secret that a large swathe of iPhone customers assume that iPhones are universally higher than Android telephones. Apple does a terrific job advertising this message, particularly relating to photograph seize. I’m sure that the majority iPhone customers, if requested, would most likely argue that iPhone cameras are superior to Android cameras. However, a flagship Android digital camera is, by most metrics, superior to an iPhone digital camera by goal evaluation. We’ve confirmed this time and time once more in our digital camera shoot-outs, akin to in our pitting of a Pixel 8 Pro towards an iPhone 15 Pro Max. The outcomes converse for themselves.Despite this, Apple customers are basing their opinions on what they see of their day-to-day lives, and what they’ve seen for years shouldn’t be good. So you possibly can’t actually blame them for getting into the Apple hype. For years now, individuals who solely use iMessage have completely seen trash pictures from Android customers as a result of these pictures come to them by MMS, which compresses them right down to the purpose that they’re pixelated gobbledygook. Why wouldn’t they assume Android telephones have horrible cameras?With RCS support, Google lastly has the chance to indicate iPhone customers that Android cameras aren’t terrible. It’s an enormous deal.
With years of unhealthy blood between iPhone customers and Android customers with regards to photograph sharing, Google cannot afford to drop the ball right here.
However, if the pictures Google Messages customers ship to iPhone customers by RCS are nonetheless super-compressed, the outdated misconceptions about Android telephones will proceed to prevail. Obviously, these RCS photograph examples I’ve proven listed here are nonetheless significantly better than MMS, however what’s going to iPhone customers say after they get super-compressed photographs from Android customers and Android customers get uncompressed, full-quality snaps from iPhone customers? If something, that can have the other impact of what Google ought to need, with iPhone customers being like, “Ugh, even with RCS, these Android pictures are nonetheless fairly unhealthy,” and with Android customers being like, “Hey, these iPhone photographs look nice! Maybe I ought to swap.” That is, clearly, not good for Android.Google would probably argue that Android customers can ship full-resolution photographs and movies by a Google Photos hyperlink as an alternative, which works throughout any platform. While this is definitely a viable choice, it’s an additional step that most individuals merely don’t take. It additionally solely works if individuals have their pictures in Google Photos and both pay for area above the free 15GB threshold or solely have a small assortment that stays underneath that restrict. Either approach, sending that hyperlink can’t compete with the comfort and ease of simply sending the photograph itself to the chat, so Google can’t use that linking system as an excuse — particularly when Samsung and Apple provide the streamlined system customers anticipate.I sincerely hope Google addresses this challenge quickly. As the outdated saying goes, you solely get one probability at a primary impression, and if Google Messages doesn’t have the power to equal the iPhone with regards to RCS messaging proper from Day One, it’s going to take a whole lot of work to undo that status afterward down the street. As it stands proper now, Google Messages has years of unhealthy blood associated to photograph sharing to counteract already, and my testing reveals that it’s presently behind the curve in this key space — and Apple Messages’ RCS support isn’t even steady but.This is your one probability, Google. Make it rely.
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Google Messages needs this fix before iPhone RCS support lands
