5mo ago

My wife has an iPhone. I have a Samsung S23. Why do videos she texts me look like super low res shit?? Can iPhones not text videos?

Edit: NOTE, I am the receiver of the texts.

So many people asking me to have my wife do something different on her end.

Beloved, she is on iPhone because she doesn't want to do anything "weird." She is texting from her phone number using her texting app. That's what's going to happen.

Now, why can't I get iMessage on my android phone? If it's just a messenger app why not make it available for Android?

I'd use it.

112 comments

SMS/MMS has really low file size limits, and iPhones may downscale a little more aggressively than required.
Just pick an internet based messaging service. I like Signal, but they all work.
- The next version of iOS should add support for RCS which should allow for cross platform larger images as well.
  
  Welcome to 2008, apple
  
  RCS from what I can tell still has some significant limitations, like the version common on Android having some Google proprietary extensions it's not clear if other vendors will fully support. I'd still recommend something like Signal to most people, though RCS improves the experience for those not using that.
  
  Do you mean should add RCS as in they're expected to, or should add RCS as in "that would be wise"?

Its due to compression of the video in order to fit on a MMS message, which is very small. Android uses RCS as a new message standard that can send bigger files but Apple has yet to add it to their OS. Its similar to how Apple uses iMessage to do the same, however this is not a standard and is locked to only apple devices.
Apple is supposedly adding support for RCS during the new iOS update but until then you can use a different messaging app to send better/larger files.
I recommend Signal as it is easy to sign up and start using while also being private.
- +1 for Signal. I converted everyone in my friends and family circle to it ..except one person, but I just ignore their texts.
- +1 signal fills the gap perfectly
  
  I like and use signal, but of course the problem is convincing someone else to start using it in order to send you a message.
- Also messenger apps like Signal often have a setting to send higher quality (less compressed) videos which are bigger in size.
  In signal it's Settings > Data and storage > Sent media qualify
- It’s not private given that they require your phone number to sign up.
  
  I think you are confusing private with anonymous. One can be private without being anonymous.

So many people asking me to have my wife do something different on her end. Beloved, she is on iPhone because she doesn’t want to do anything “weird.”
Assuming using a third-party messaging app is "weird", then she can't send you video with acceptable quality. That's how it is.
She can't fix that. You can't fix that. None of the readers here can fix that unless they work at Apple. This may improve in the future when Apple adopts RCS, but there's a lot that real-world implementations of RCS do that isn't in the standard, so the full details of interoperability are uncertain until we see it in the wild.
Now, why can’t I get iMessage on my android phone?
Because Apple doesn't want you to. Apple wants situations like this one to pressure people to buy iPhones because that's apparently easier for some people than agreeing on a messaging app.

Anything over MMS gets compressed insane amounts.
- I have an iPhone and whenever my Android-owning friend sends me something, it’s a tiny thumbnail of a photo. So yeah, goes both ways.
  
  The trick is to send a link to the photo or video instead of the actual file. This is also how iPhone users can use FaceTime with people on other platforms.
  
  That wouldn't be an issue today if Apple had started supporting RCS, the replacement for the old SMS/MMS system years ago like every Android phone. Instead of trying to strangle it by acting like iMessage on iOS was the only solution.

It's because Apple has refused to adopt new messaging standards like RCS (not that Google is doing that much of a better job), but it's purposefully broken interoperability to force people into buying into product ecosystems (iPhone vs. Android) to make you stick with one and get stuck on it.
It's stupid anti-competitive and I freakin' hate it.
Literally doesn't have to be this way, it's a choice (mostly by Apple, but once again doesn't mean Google is better).
https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/15/24178470/apple-rcs-support-wwdc-announcement-android-imessage
Apple was largely forced to support RCS in response to the mounting pressure from global regulators and competing companies. That may help explain the somewhat disgruntled approach to announcing its rollout in iOS 18.
https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to-switch-on-rcs-messaging-in-ios-18
Here's a walkthrough to ensure RCS is enabled on your wife's iPhone, once iOS 18 drops in the next month or so.
- A lot of RCS is using Google Jibe, it’s one of the ways they were able to roll it out so fast not necessarily with carrier support. I can’t fault them too much for not immediately embracing it. Based on the Toms Hardware link it looks like they are depending on carrier hubs. For me that means I may not get support for a long time as an MVNO user.
  
  The Google proprietary extensions in their implementation of RCS is honestly pretty crappy imho as well. Neither of these companies are "good guys" in terms of RCS standards.
- Don't forget to add in the primary reason they don't want to implement it is exactly because of comment's like OPs, because it makes it look like Android phones are the problem. Most people assume that it's because it's an android it doesn't work right, and so everyone should just have iPhones. Why fix what is already great marketing for them, even if it is a complete lie?

The real reason: Apple intentionally doesn't support the open protocols that send pics and videos to non-Apple devices. These protocols are a decade old and work great. They use a proprietary protocol instead, which they will not share with other phone manufacturers.
What the average iPhone user thinks: Apple is better than Android!
It's pretty dumb.
- The thing is, Apple phones do support these things, but only if they change the default messenger app, and most Apple users won't do that. IPhone users are worse than Windows users when It comes to changing their default apps.
  
  Unless I did a really poor job researching it, you cannot change your default SMS/MMS application on an iPhone.
  You can use other messaging apps like Signal, Whatsapp, Telegram, or AIM. But if you want to use SMS, you have to use iMessage.
  Maybe this is US-specific though. Europe often forces Apple to do things they don't do here.
  
  If you mean changing which app natively gets used for texting, that’s not something you can do on iOS. You can choose to open a different app, but if I tell Siri to text someone it will always 100% without a doubt no way to circumvent it use the standard Messages app. iOS doesn’t let you change your default for texts.
  Hell, they only allow you to change your default web browser because they were dragged into court kicking and screaming. And even then, all third-party browsers are forced to use Safari’s engine for the backend, and aren’t allowed to use their own engines. Even Chrome, Firefox, and Brave are just reskins of Safari on iOS. And even then, any apps that open an in-app browser will still use Safari even when your default browser is different. For instance, I’m browsing lemmy on Voyager, and it opens all links in a built in Safari browser, (even though my default browser is set to Firefox.)

You both use Signal, problem solved.
- Me and my wife do this and its pretty much the only person we talk to on there.
  Its got some nice features to keep track of images and such. I was surprised she went for it really, usually 99% of the ideas I mention to her get turned down lol
  Oh forgot to add, we also have android and iOS.
  
  I had to double check that I didn't write this because those words could have literally come from my fingers.

Why are you still using sms in 2024?....
- I'm not OP but I might as well be. My family has a group chat that exists almost exclusively to send pics/videos of the kids to each other. It's a mixed group of android/iOS, so the videos come through with 12 pixels. I have begged and pleaded for every key to switch to telegram, GroupMe, Gchat, Facebook... ANYTHING!!
  But they're all on iPhone because they specifically don't want to be tweaking or customizing anything in their phones.
  
  Tell them about the app store
  There's an app for that
  
  I fixed this, tell the grandmother, I'll only send the pictures etc via signal.
  Set it up for her, put it on the home screen.

Apple doesn't do RCS. This should be changing soon, but for now you should be using another messaging app, because everything you send is unencrypted and shittier quality
- It also depends on the carrier. Girlfriend has iOS 18 Beta and RCS option is missing.

The answer is as others have stated appl not supporting the open standard RCS.
I will elaborate with apple are deliberately dragging their feet supporting standards as a deliberate attempt to put social pressure on you to buy an iphone.
an audience member asked Apple CEO Tim Cook for some tech support. “I can’t send my mom certain videos,” he said; she used an Android device, which means she can't access Apple’s iMessage. Cook’s now-infamous response: “Buy your mom an iPhone.”
The Apple Antitrust Case and the ‘Stigma’ of the Green Bubble
The solutions others have suggested of installing other messaging apps like signal will work but I will suggest another; Buy your wife an Android.
- THE solution is not to buy the wife an Android, that is ONE solution.
  In total, there are a few solutions, I number them to make it easier to refer to them, not to order them from best to worst.
  Get yourself an iPhone
  Get your wife an Android
  Wait for iOS 18
  Switch to a messaging app like Element or Signal.
  1 and 2: Unless you yourself can accept switching to using the other system, it is unfair to demand that the other part does that.
  I have tried to switch to Android, I did it back in 2019, but I just disliked the feel of the OS enough that after dropping my phone and smashing the screen after 2-3 months, I didn't even bother to get it fixed, I just moved back to my iPhone.
  iOS 18 will have RCS, and will probably solve this.
- Apple will support RCS in the next iOS 18, so maybe they can just wait a month.

Apple isn't doing everything it can to optimize the quality of videos iPhones send or receive over MMS. Video quality between Android phones, even over MMS, is much better.

Sending multimedia via traditional text messaging uses the MMS service, which is ideal for very low resolution images, like sub megabyte, I didn't even know it could support videos! Wild.
I suggest you add her on something like Discord, or WhatsApp, LINE, whatever works for you, and send each other multimedia that way :-)
Also depending on your provider you may incur lower costs and faster load times, too.

You'll need a third party messaging app. Like Signal or WhatsApp.
- Yeah, why the hell is OP using SMS?
  
  Probably because they're from the U.S. where SMS is still used extensively for messaging.

signal is the way

Apple dragged their feet for years in implementing RCS.
- Not that surprising. Google Jibe is the largest player in RCS. Samsung created their own RCS alternative to Jibe and there are a few others, but Google is hands down the dominant platform. Apple had their own thing already, not exactly jumping to integrate Google Jibe or create another product isn’t surprising.
  
  Samsung had support before Google and Jibe... but they have abandoned their own RCS support. Simply because Google's works on all of their devices and they don't need to do any development to support it going forwards. Why pay for development and support for a system you don't have to and get nothing from? No one is buying a Samsung phone for the Samsung Messages RCS capability.

Send the video over a messenger instead?

I think everyone has explained the how and why, but not any real solutions that don't involve using a completely different application. I don't have an iPhone in front of me, but with Android you can share as a link to Google Photos instead of sending the picture/video directly. I am pretty sure you can do something similar with iCloud. Have her try the share as iCloud link instead.
Update: I just tested it. I had them open up Photos, go to the image/video, tap the share button, and then if you scroll down a tiny bit there is a share as iCloud link. I was able to view it just fine on my Android phone.
- How is that a better solution than using another messenger app?
  
  Its less private thats for sure.
  
  Its less private thats for sure.

Messaging between iPhones uses iMessage and messaging between android probably uses RCS, both of which do not have the limitations of MMS, which is a limit of around 3.5 MB for most carriers. “Texting” pictures and videos from iPhone to android or vice versa will likely use MMS, hence the blurry media. Until Apple joins the party, the solution is to use another app like WhatsApp, telegram, signal, etc.

Keep a stock message on your phone to cut and paste whenever an iPhone user sends you a potato-quality video. This is mine:
Please don't send video to me via iMessage from your iPhone. In fact, you really shouldn't send video via iMessage at all. Video sent by Apple looks terrible on non-iOS phones. This is not a shortcoming of other phones, this is entirely Apple's fault and is their explicit intention. If you want to send a video from your iPhone, you can open the Photos app, tap the share button, and select "share as an iCloud link". That will enable All users to view your glorious video of your cat/kids/dinner/vacation/rant/whatever in the high resolution that your overpriced phone is capable of. Another option is to send the video using a messaging app such as Signal or WhatsApp. Alternate messaging apps are what most of the world use in lieu of sms/mms text messaging.
This is a form letter response and you will get it every time you send me video from your iPhone via iMessage.
P.S. I love you
- What a great way to let your friends and loved ones know you are insufferable to deal with and will drop a rant on them about your minor inconveniences at every opportunity.
  
  Hey, it worked! They stopped sending him videos in low res. In fact they stopped sending him videos all together.

Apple intentionally makes iPhone-Android interoperability crap in order to sell iPhones. That's not conspiracy theorizing, Tim Apple blatantly admitted to it.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/7/23342243/tim-cook-apple-rcs-imessage-android-iphone-compatibility

Use Whatsapp or another 3rd party messenger. It's annoying but an easy solution.
- WhatsApp is the opposite of annoying, that's why the entire planet uses it, except U.S. Americans for some reason

What do the videos look like on her phone?
If they're shit there, it's the phone (or the operator). If they look good there and change to shit when they get to your phone, it's something in that process. Perhaps set to send a low res version by default.
- It's fine, great on her phone. After sending to me it's unwatchable.
  Have a look if you want.

they use proprietary file formats (MOV and HEIC) that need to be converted to a universal format like jpg or MP4 to be viewed on android (I think this can be changed in iPhone settings), and the conversion looks like shit
- It’s very funny you say MOV and HEIC are proprietary and then list MP4 considering
  HEIC is just H.265, the video codec, used to encode images
  H.264, the codec used for most mp4 files has the same license as H.265 with patent bullshit license fees going on
  MP4 container is pretty similar to MOV, and is also not an open standard
  this also means MOV and MP4 can be losslessly converted
  Apple provides documentation for MOV format free of charge while ISO really wants you to pay to get official standard PDF
  All this doesn’t matter anyway because ffmpeg can decode everything (though I guess it might matter in bizarro land where software patents are a thing)
  Also Android can totally read at least HEIC images. Not sure about MOV. Any of this is also not related to the problem the OP has.
- HEIC is not proprietary to Apple at all, they were just one of the early adopters of it.
  My Android phone takes pictures in HEIC/HEIF by default, and it's not nearly as much of a problem anymore almost all software can handle the format now.

@geometry dash the RCS is not something Apple does. Your messages are currently unencrypted and of worse quality; however, this will be rectified shortly. In the meantime, you are better off using a different messaging software.

Cause then you won't buy an iPhone.. Duh

You're probably getting suggestions for what she should do different because, at least at a starting point, it could just as easily be something her phone is doing before sending as it is something your phone is doing on the receiving end.
I've had a phone say 'video to big, do you want to crop or share through abc app' before. Don't recall the exact message, but seems more likely than you phone downgrading something it's receiving.

There's a solution nobody has mentioned yet, which is using an iMessage bridge application (allowing you to message iPhone users over iMessage). If you have a machine running MacOS, I just started using one called OpenBubbles that works great and, unlike other bridges (AirMessage or BlueBubbles), doesn't require you to spin up and run a Mac as a server.
Alternatively, iOS 18 drops this month and has support for RCS, as some have mentioned. This is assuming you use Google Messages...

One of you has a lower res screen so there is a conversion issue on the sending

iPhones tend to have pretty shit cameras compared to Samsungs - it's not just purely a question of pixels but lense quality as well.
- That’s hilariously out of touch with reality and also not the issue he’s talking about.

112 comments