Those with an iPhone 11 can upload images to Google Photos at full resolution, while those with a Pixel 4 cannot. Blame a compression algorithm
The unveiling of the Pixel 4 last October 15 in New York was a harbinger of changes, for the Mountain View-based company. And not all of them are necessarily positive. For example, those who will buy the new google phone will not be able to save images on Google Photos with the original resolution, but will have to "settle" for unlimited space for photos compressed to 16 megapixels.
A no small sacrifice, since the photo section is the strength of the new Pixel 4, with new features such as astrophotography that, probably, will end up creating files much heavier than 16 megapixels. Media files that, however, will be able to be saved in the cloud only in compressed format, with inevitable loss of image quality. A problem that, incredibly, should not have owners of an iPhone 11 or iPhone Xs. They, in fact, will be able to store images on Google Photos at native resolution even if higher than 16 megapixels.
iPhone 11: unlimited space to save images on Google Photos
As discovered by Reddit user "stephenvsawyer", in fact, the new image format used by iPhones with iOS 13 (HEIC, which stands for High Efficciency Image File Format) allow you to get unlimited space at full resolution. And all because of the merit (or fault, depending on the perspective from which you look at it) of a compression algorithm that doesn't do its job. The software used by Google on its photographic platform, in fact, ends up increasing instead of decreasing the file weight, forcing Google technicians to resort to a counterintuitive solution, but surely effective.
To avoid that iPhone users end up taking up more space (precious space) on the disks of its data centers, Google decided that the photos in HEIC format can be uploaded at full resolution, without compression of any kind. A real privilege for users of the bitten apple, while those who will buy a brand new Pixel 4 will have to put their soul in peace. At the moment, in fact, it is not possible to save photos taken with the latest Google smartphone in HEIC format, but it is not to be excluded that, shortly, some app will allow you to do so.