Sharing photos and videos between Android and iPhone has historically been plagued by quality loss, often resulting in grainy, low-resolution files. This issue stemmed from the mismatch between Apple’s traditional SMS texting and Android’s Rich Communication Services (RCS). With the release of iOS 18, Apple has introduced native RCS support, allowing iPhone users to receive media at higher qualities similar to those sent within the Android ecosystem.
To ensure the best results, iPhone users should verify that RCS is enabled. This setting is activated by default on iOS 18, but can be confirmed by navigating to Settings, selecting Apps, then Messages, and ensuring the RCS Messaging toggle is green. On the Android side, Google Messages defaults to sending compressed images. To preserve quality, users must manually select the HD or HD+ button before sending and ensure the setting is configured for “HD+ Original Quality” rather than “HD Optimized for Chat.”
For larger files and videos, which may exceed RCS’s 100MB attachment limit, alternative methods are recommended. Google Photos offers a streamlined solution; users can select “Send in Google Photos” when sharing to another app user, maintaining original quality. Google Drive is also a reliable option for transferring large files across different operating systems.
Additionally, Android Quick Share now supports AirDrop functionality, available on Pixel phones from the 8a model onward and various Samsung Galaxy devices. This allows for direct, high-speed transfers similar to Apple’s ecosystem. For Android devices that do not support this feature, users can utilize the QR code option within Quick Share, enabling iPhone users to scan the code and receive the media as a fallback method.
Does Google Photos still compress if you aren’t on the original quality setting? Always paranoid about losing resolution.
Quick Share for Pixel 8a and Samsung? Yes please. No more grainy exports when sending videos to my wife.
Finally! RCS on iOS 18 is a game changer. I didn’t know I had to manually toggle HD+ on Android though.