Google Messages starts rolling out solution to low-quality media problem in chats

Google has started rolling out the ability to share images and videos in their original quality in RCS chats. We uncovered this feature way back in August in one of our Authority Insights APK teardowns.

With the rollout now in the beta version (20241118_03_RC00) of the Google Messages app, a wider release for the feature can be expected very soon.

When you get the update, you’ll be able to pull up a “Media Quality” sheet from the top right corner in chats. Here, you’ll have two options: “Optimized for chats,” which will give you a lower-resolution version of the image or video to share in chats, and “Original quality,” which will let you send the media in full resolution.

You’ll also notice that the Original quality setting comes with an HD+ icon to help differentiate it from the Optimized setting. Once you make the selection, you can caption the media (or not) and hit send.

The setting you choose will apply to both the current chat and any future chats. We wish Google had provided an option to separate these, but unfortunately, it doesn’t.

While the ability to share media in full resolution is a welcome addition to Google Messages, users should note that it could incur higher data use and may take longer than sending a compressed version of the media.