Google consistently enhances its Messages app, ensuring a competitive user experience and aligning it with other Android messaging apps. Updates vary in announcement style, with some receiving official press notes and others quietly integrated. The latest update silently introduces support for the Ultra HDR image format in the Google Messages app. With this addition, users can now share Ultra HDR photos through the RCS-enabled app. Furthermore, images sent via Messages retain metadata and accurately display colors and details on the recipient’s device.
TheSpAndroid was the initial observer of this modification in the Google Messages app. Additionally, the app now incorporates a new flag termed bugle.support_ultra_hdr within the apk file of the latest version.
What does the Ultra HDR format entail?
Recently, Google unveiled the Ultra HDR format alongside the Android 14 operating system. Essentially, it serves as an enhanced iteration of the JPEG format. These images typically deliver superior dynamic range, and if the device features an HDR display, HDR data is embedded in the metadata. On devices without HDR capabilities, it appears as a standard JPEG image.
Google has introduced Ultra HDR support for the recently unveiled Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones, and the format is also integrated into the Android 14 operating system. However, the adoption of this format by other OEMs has been relatively sluggish. Nevertheless, if you possess an Ultra HDR image and rely on Google Messages as your primary messaging app, the latest version now accommodates it, allowing you to share such images seamlessly.