Google’s Messages application lets you share photos and videos without them otherwise being compressed by mobile networks. The app rolls Rich Communication Services (RCS), SMS, and instant messaging into one, but large files can take some time to send, depending on your network conditions. To speed up the process, Google is rolling out a feature to make photos smaller.
Some users of Google Messages noticed that there is now a “Send photos faster” option in the app’s RCS Chats settings. The text underneath simply explains that the “resolution is reduced for faster sending.” Strangely, there are few details about the additional toggle. The app’s download page on the Google Play Store indicates it was updated on April 6, but changes like these are often introduced via a server-side switch.
Google doesn't say by how much the resolution (and, by extension, the file size) is reduced on Google Messages. Mobile networks T-Mobile and AT&T lets you send photos and videos up to 100 megabytes in size, but Google hasn’t indicated a limit. However, the tech giant’s Jibe Mobile also lists 100MB as the maximum.
To be clear, the wording indicates that this faster-sending option only applies to photos, not videos or individual files. Since the option isn’t widely available for Android or Messages users, it’s likely that this is an A/B test that the company has currently rolled out to a small number of users.
Messages is Google’s answer to rival Apple’s iMessage, but there is a significant difference. iMessage doesn’t use the RCS platform, and as recently as December last year, Apple said it wasn’t “currently considering” adopting it. Carriers need to support RCS, but most do, and it's a great and easy way to text friends and family in a system that tries to be an open successor to SMS.
Essentially, RCS lets you send content from your RCS-compatible phone to another compatible phone over an internet connection, bypassing mobile networks. Since Apple doesn’t appear to be interested, it’s why you can’t download iMessage for Android or Google Messages for iOS. Google has even been calling out Apple with an ongoing campaign. It explains that “Apple refuses to adopt modern texting standards when people with iPhones and Android phones text each other.”
Source: 9to5Google