Feature/idea to reduce iMessage send times

[Joe HS]

Given that some users complain about how long it can take for iMessages containing many or even one photo to send, especially on a poor connection, would anyone mind give their thoughts on an idea of mine?

Could and should Apple modify iMessage to send an instruction to the recipient's device to download an image from Apple's servers (your iCloud Drive/Photo Stream) in order to prevent the sender from needing to fully upload an image before the recipient can begin to download the file from the (assumedly) temporary location as is the case now, given that it is very likely that locally stored photos are already in the cloud in some form even if they are in private storage and the current method is a waste of bandwidth and time?

The same, current method would continue to be employed if a duplicate of the file was not already online but this could potentially cut the time to transfer an image in half (or more if the receiving device has a faster connection than the sender) without needing to resort to compression of photos. I for one appreciate that the full files are sent.

 

[12vElectronics]

iMessage send very fast for me. The only issue I have is when sending photos. That takes forever.

 

[jrswizzle]

Instead of iMessaging multiple photos, just use Photo Stream if they aren't with you or AirDrop if they are.

iMessaging photos is extremely inefficient in that it takes time and the receiver then has to copy the photo into his/her camera roll creating a duplicate copy.

 

[Joe HS]

iMessage send very fast for me. The only issue I have is when sending photos. That takes forever.

I was talking about when sending photos.

Instead of iMessaging multiple photos, just use Photo Stream if they aren't with you or AirDrop if they are.

iMessaging photos is extremely inefficient in that it takes time and the receiver then has to copy the photo into his/her camera roll creating a duplicate copy.

You don't have to save photos you receive by iMessage. Often photos are sent just to show someone something and not for any further purpose – but even then it's nice to have an uncompressed image.

 

[The Doctor11]

My internet is ****. So what I do is very simple. I tap on it and hit "send as a text message". Now I know there are iPads and iPods and such that people send iMessages to so if that is the case you wait. But OP did have a pretty good idea

 

[C DM]

My internet is ****. So what I do is very simple. I tap on it and hit "send as a text message". Now I know there are iPads and iPods and such that people send iMessages to so if that is the case you wait. But OP did have a pretty good idea

That can degrade the quality of the photo too though.

 

[nyjoe610]

I send texts and pictures through imessage both on wifi and lte, i have never witnessed a problem. TMobile NY for reference.

 

[RyanG]

iMessage sends uncompressed picture, text message is the opposite.

Just send as a text message if it bothers you that much.

 

[Sonmi451]

It works well for me. Only tough part is managing space. Photos will fill up your space fast. It's a lot easier with iOS8 now that I can use a third party app to save all photos, and change data to erase after a week, then toggle it back to Off or whatever.

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I wish there was a separate option to "Keep multimedia" so I can purge those without losing my text data.

 

[parseckadet]

Given that some users complain about how long it can take for iMessages containing many or even one photo to send, especially on a poor connection, would anyone mind give their thoughts on an idea of mine?

Could and should Apple modify iMessage to send an instruction to the recipient's device to download an image from Apple's servers (your iCloud Drive/Photo Stream) in order to prevent the sender from needing to fully upload an image before the recipient can begin to download the file from the (assumedly) temporary location as is the case now, given that it is very likely that locally stored photos are already in the cloud in some form even if they are in private storage and the current method is a waste of bandwidth and time?

The same, current method would continue to be employed if a duplicate of the file was not already online but this could potentially cut the time to transfer an image in half (or more if the receiving device has a faster connection than the sender) without needing to resort to compression of photos. I for one appreciate that the full files are sent.

Apple has stated that iMessages are encrypted from device to device. So your phone encrypts the message, sends the encrypted data, iCloud transfers it to the recipient, who then decrypts it on his device. Apple can't take a photo from your photo stream and add it to your message while it's in transit because doing so would require them to decrypt the message, add the photo, and re-encrypt. This would be bad because it would require that they have the keys used to encrypt the data in the first place. This would open the door for hackers and government agencies to gain access to your messages, either via court orders or by nefarious means.

iMessage sends uncompressed picture, text message is the opposite.

Just send as a text message if it bothers you that much.

iOS saves all images as JPEG files, which are always compressed. It doesn't matter if you send it via iMessage or SMS, the same file is being sent regardless.

 

[iBanker]

Photos send fairly quickly for me - never noticed an issue.

 

[RyanG]

iOS saves all images as JPEG files, which are always compressed. It doesn't matter if you send it via iMessage or SMS, the same file is being sent regardless.

I wasn't referring to the iPhone being able to take RAW photos...

Based on the format it takes natively, text messages will compress it more than iMessage.