WhatsApp may soon let iPhone users send up to 2GB files
India Today
WhatsApp’s ability to send large files will certainly help people who have so far taken to other apps to do so. At the same time, this could be bad news for Telegram.
WhatsApp may be the most convenient way to chat, but it certainly is not the go-to app if you want to send large files to your friends. You either resort to sending the files through cloud storage apps or just Telegram them. WhatsApp may soon iron out that inconvenience. According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is testing the app’s ability to send files up to 2GB in size - something Telegram has been offering for quite a while now. But the catch is that this small test is being conducted for iPhone users only.
The latest WhatsApp for iOS beta version 22.7.0.76 reportedly brings full support for iOS 15, but it was also spotted that the Meta-owned app is also testing the ability for up to 2GB file transfer on iOS. Currently, you can send media files up to 100MB, which once used to be convenient but over the years turned into a shortcoming of the app because people now prefer sending files on messaging apps. Moreover, rival apps such as Telegram already offer such a facility and that puts pressure on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, according to the report, is conducting a small test in Argentina currently. Screenshots shared in the report show WhatsApp alerting users that the iPhone app can “send documents up to 2GB in size.” It is not clear, however, when WhatsApp will widen the rollout of this feature. Regardless, WhatsApp’s ability to send large files will certainly help people who have so far taken to other apps to do so. At the same time, this could be bad news for Telegram, which, although a strong rival, still does not have an install base like WhatsApp. For people using Telegram, privacy and features like the 2GB file transfer are the biggest attraction. WhatsApp implementing them is likely to put a dent in Telegram’s user base.
In other news, 9to5Mac has noted that WhatsApp is finally implementing features that respect the iOS 15 theme. Among them is the app’s new all-black design wherein the taskbar at the bottom, too, would use the same colour as the rest of the app. WhatsApp is also reportedly working on two other major features; Reactions and multi-device compatibility 2.0. The first one would let users send a reaction to WhatsApp messages just like how they do it on Instagram and Facebook Messenger. The multi-device compatibility 2.0, on the other hand, would let users access WhatsApp on another smartphone using the same account and unlock the iPad app.
