Problem: I would like to share images intended for use as desktop wallpapers with a friend. iCloud Photo Sharing is how I'd prefer to do this, but images are shrunk to a maximum of 2048x2048 pixels.
However the iCloud Photo Sharing FAQ states: "Panoramic photos can be up to 5400 pixels wide."
Is there any way to tag photos I don't want to be compressed as panoramas to fool iCloud into not shrinking them?
Thanks!
EDIT: By trial and error I've figured out how iCloud Photo Sharing's shrinking works. I doubt I'm the first to figure this out but I can't find an explanation anywhere else online, so for curious people, here's an explanation. Or see the flowchart attached:
What Apple says happens:
This makes it seem as though the maximum width of a photo on iCloud Photo Sharing is 2048 pixels, except for panoramas, and that somehow iCloud knows what is a panorama (perhaps by tagging, or maybe simply aspect ratio) to exempt it from the 2048 pixel width limit. This is wrong.
What actually happens:
Any image, whether or not it is actually a "panorama", can have a width of up to 5400 pixels, provided its height isn't more than 1536 pixels.
So, iCloud Photo Sharing will shrink your photo if and only if:
How much are shrunken photos shrunk by?
iCloud Photo Sharing will shrink an offending image until both conditions are just met. For example:
Apple's statement that standard 4:3 photos will have up to 2048 pixels on the long edge is correct per se, however this is a consequence of the 1536 pixel height limit, not a 2048 pixel width limit.
NB iCloud can cope with portrait photos: the exact same logic occurs as above, simply swapping height and width. For square (1:1) images a 2048x2048 pixel limit applies.
I hope someone finds this interesting/helpful! 😀
However the iCloud Photo Sharing FAQ states: "Panoramic photos can be up to 5400 pixels wide."
Is there any way to tag photos I don't want to be compressed as panoramas to fool iCloud into not shrinking them?
Thanks!
EDIT: By trial and error I've figured out how iCloud Photo Sharing's shrinking works. I doubt I'm the first to figure this out but I can't find an explanation anywhere else online, so for curious people, here's an explanation. Or see the flowchart attached:
What Apple says happens:
This makes it seem as though the maximum width of a photo on iCloud Photo Sharing is 2048 pixels, except for panoramas, and that somehow iCloud knows what is a panorama (perhaps by tagging, or maybe simply aspect ratio) to exempt it from the 2048 pixel width limit. This is wrong.
What actually happens:
Any image, whether or not it is actually a "panorama", can have a width of up to 5400 pixels, provided its height isn't more than 1536 pixels.
So, iCloud Photo Sharing will shrink your photo if and only if:
- It is more than 5400 pixels wide, OR
- It is more than 1536 pixels high.
How much are shrunken photos shrunk by?
iCloud Photo Sharing will shrink an offending image until both conditions are just met. For example:
- A 2304x1440 12" Retina MacBook wallpaper will not be shrunk
- A 5120x2880 5K Retina iMac wallpaper will be shrunk to 2731x1536
- This means, surprisingly, it is the height, not the width of a 5K wallpaper that triggers shrinking!
- A 5401x1367 (i.e. one pixel over each limit) image will be shrunk to 5397x1536
- A 4032x3024 iPhone 6s photo will be shrunk to 2048x1536
Apple's statement that standard 4:3 photos will have up to 2048 pixels on the long edge is correct per se, however this is a consequence of the 1536 pixel height limit, not a 2048 pixel width limit.
NB iCloud can cope with portrait photos: the exact same logic occurs as above, simply swapping height and width. For square (1:1) images a 2048x2048 pixel limit applies.
I hope someone finds this interesting/helpful! 😀
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