Over the past couple of years, I’ve encountered a peculiar issue with Apple’s Messages app, particularly regarding image handling. I’ve hoped that Apple would eventually address the problem, but it remains unresolved.
The core of the issue lies in sending AVIF image files through iMessage, which fail to display correctly. As AVIF gains traction as a popular image format, it’s certainly frustrating for users.
But that’s just part of the problem. It’s one thing for Apple to lack support for the format; however, quite inexplicably, the images appear in a small window that cannot be expanded. This leaves users with a minuscule image that is impossible to view properly.
This issue persists on both iOS and macOS platforms. Interestingly, the AVIF image is displayed correctly in the message sending preview, which doesn’t raise any alarms until you actually send the image.
If Apple had completely omitted AVIF support, it would be understandable. Nonetheless, they achieved AVIF image file support in Safari as early as iOS 16, which was more than two years ago.
For reasons unknown, they’ve yet to extend this support to iMessage, despite the visibility of AVIF files to users. The images simply cannot be viewed correctly.
This situation is quite perplexing, and I genuinely hope that Apple resolves it soon. With AVIF support already established in Safari and Photos, there’s no barrier for users who want to send them via iMessage. Unfortunately, the images still fail to render correctly, leading to an awkward situation where a sent image is ultimately unviewable. It’s definitely frustrating.
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