Android Users Are Receiving Distorted GIFs From iPhone Users And It Might Be Due To Cross Platform Messaging

wccftech.com:

A strange issue has popped up recently that is causing distorted GIFs to be sent on Android phones from iPhone users. The GIFs exchanged from the iPhone to the Android version are usually done through SMS or MMS. This is because Apple's operating system is incompatible with the Rich Communication Services (RCS) platform used by Google Messages. It is said that the messaging hindrance will be addressed later this year when iOS extends support for RCS, taking away the need to exchange graphics through other formats.

Several Android users are complaining about receiving distorted GIFs from iPhone users who use SMS or MMS messaging platforms

Many Android users raised this issue on Reddit, highlighting their dismay at the visuals coming in with dead pixels. The reports suggest that the issue is mainly encountered on Pixel phones and Galaxy devices and only with GIFs sent over by the iPhone owner. The reports keep piling up, with some claiming their conversation was impacted by the ongoing disruptions. We have tested the same thing on Google Messages running on the Pixel 8, but we did not encounter such an issue.

Related Story Apple Finally Gives In And Adopts RCS Messaging Standard For Enhanced Communication Between iPhone And Android Devices

Users have come up with various explanations for the cause of the pixelated GIFs and the fixes that worked for them. One reason for the GIFs issue could be the toggle for sending photos faster, which compresses the media before sharing, resulting in missing dots for the image. A quick fix could be to disable the toggle for faster images, and this strategy might do the trick.

Other Android owners have a more compelling explanation for the distortion: the discrepancy between the messaging platforms for Android and iPhone. With the current iOS platforms, downgraded media is sent owing to SMS/MMS services when exchanged with Android, and due to the cross-platform messaging, the error might seem to persist.

Google Support even suggested