Up until a couple of weeks ago, WhatsApp had this rather annoying limitation where photos and videos shared through the app saw a significant loss in quality and resolution. Meta finally mitigated some of these concerns recently when it enabled sharing of this media content in a higher-resolution “HD” format. Now, the company is looking to go a step beyond this by allowing users to share media content with no compression.
WABetaInfo reports that the latest WhatsApp Beta release on Android (version 2.23.18.12) packs the ability to share videos and photos in their original quality, preserving the resolution too. Currently, even if you select the HD option while sending a photo, WhatsApp may retain the resolution but still compress the image prior to sending it. Similarly, videos shared with the HD option checked get sent with a 720p resolution, which is still more than the previous 480p standard. However, if the latest beta release is any indication, you’ll soon be able to share media content without compression.
There is a somewhat major catch though; any media content shared with this uncompressed configuration selected will be sent as an attachment. It’s important to note that it was already possible to retain media quality by sending files as attachments. The significant change this time around is that you’ll be able to select it directly from WhatsApp’s file-picker interface just like a regular photo or video, rather than having to tediously navigate through tons of nested folders in the existing Android file-picker.
In essence, you’ll be able to accomplish the same task as before but in fewer and simpler steps. That said, it is crucial to remember that this functionality is still under development in WhatsApp Beta and there’s no knowing when it will see the light of day and in what form.