Over the past few years, I’ve encountered a peculiar issue with Apple’s Messages app, particularly concerning image sharing. I had hoped that Apple would address it soon, but it remains unresolved.
Specifically, when an AVIF image file is sent via iMessage, it does not display correctly. As AVIF continues to gain popularity as an image format, this limitation can be quite frustrating.
Yet, this problem goes beyond a simple lack of support for the file type. Oddly, the image appears in a small preview window without the option to enlarge it. Consequently, users are left with a minuscule image on their screens that is hard to view properly.
This issue occurs on both iOS and macOS platforms. The AVIF image can be seen clearly in the Message sending preview, leading to no prior suspicions about the problem before the image is sent.
It would be somewhat understandable if Apple did not support AVIF at all, but that’s not the case. Support for AVIF files was introduced in Safari with iOS 16, over two years ago.
For reasons unknown, Apple hasn’t yet extended this support to iMessage, even though the AVIF images are visible to users. The main drawback is the inability to view them correctly.
This situation is quite odd, and I truly hope Apple prioritizes fixing it soon. Since AVIF images work fine in Safari and Photos, there’s no real reason users should face difficulty when sending them through iMessage. The result is a frustrating experience where an image sent cannot be viewed properly. It’s quite bothersome.
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