Having recently removed its best feature, Google Photos is now trying to convince us that it wasn’t good in the first place and has warned users of the consequences.
Google Photos logo
In a recent subscriber email, the Google Photos team described new premium editing features available exclusively to their paying Google One customers. However, the email also contains a somewhat surprising section that encourages users to consume more of their storage share by changing loads from high quality to original quality or risking serious consequences.
According to the email, “original quality photos retain as much detail as possible and allow you to enlarge, crop, and print photos with less pixelation.” While this statement is objectively true, it disagrees with what Google has told us in the past about its high-quality option.
At the 2015 launch, Google Photos creator Anil Sabharwal promised that high-quality uploads offer “almost identical visual quality” compared to your original photos.
But now Google wants us to see a seemingly huge difference in quality between the two configurations and be willing to pay a supplement for it. It seems that “Original Quality” is now suddenly something we should all be willing to pay more for.
Here’s the image Google used to show the difference between original quality and high quality:
Original quality images may look better than Google’s high-quality option, but that’s not why
So do both quality options offer a visual quality almost identical to the promise initially or do the high quality images really look like a pixelated mess on top compared to the originals? Do you really need to switch to the original quality as Google suggests and pay more for the extra storage you will need?
High quality images are restricted to 16 megapixels for photos or 1080p resolution for video and can be stored in service until June 2021. On the other hand, original quality uploads have the resolution at which the camera, which can often produce large files that exceed the 16 megapixel / 1080p limit. These larger files consume the user’s storage share and require you to purchase a Google One storage plan once your 15GB of free storage is exhausted.
If you’re worried about losing quality if you don’t switch to the original quality, don’t worry. It’s important to point out that Google’s sample image isn’t absolutely representative of the difference you’ll actually see between the two quality settings. Most people will probably not notice the difference.
On the other hand, cameras have come a long way since 2015 and if you then made the decision to stick to high quality, you may want to reconsider this option for a while if you have a new phone with specifications. much higher. that you are really using.
If, for example, you’ve started recording a lot of videos in 4K, or even 8K, you may want to establish a plan to preserve them in original quality. With the photos, it’s a little different: the iPhone 12 Pro Max, for example, comes with a 12-megapixel main sensor that fits the 16-megapixel limit. However, if your phone offers a high-resolution option, such as a 108-megapixel mode, it’s a different story.
Of course, consider your quality options, but don’t be fooled by Google’s pixelated bird warning. You will probably look good with high quality.
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