About JPEG XL
JPEG XL is a modern image format standardised as ISO/IEC 18181 in 2022, designed by the JPEG committee with contributions from Google's PIK and Cloudinary's FUIF projects. Its ambition was to replace JPG properly: better compression, a true lossless mode, transparency, HDR and wide colour, very large images, progressive decoding, and a way to repack existing JPG files losslessly into smaller JXL files.
A complicated rollout
Support has had a bumpy history. Chrome experimented with JPEG XL behind a flag and then removed it in 2023, while Apple adopted it, adding support in Safari 17 and across its operating systems. Since then, interest from photographers, archives and software makers has kept it alive, and other browsers have been adding support. In everyday apps and upload forms it is still rare, so keep a JPG or PNG copy of anything you send.
How JXL compares
At high quality, JPEG XL tends to preserve fine texture better than AVIF or WebP, which makes it attractive for photography and archives. At very low quality, AVIF often gives smaller files. Its lossless mode usually beats PNG comfortably. Encoding and decoding here use libjxl, the reference implementation, in WebAssembly, so it works in any browser.
JPEG XL at a glance
| First released | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | Yes |
| Animation or pages | Animation |
| Best for | High-quality photos and archiving |
| Support | Safari 17+; arriving in other browsers; patchy in apps |
Questions people ask
Is JPEG XL the same as JPEG 2000?
No. They are unrelated formats from different eras, despite the similar names.
Can every browser open JXL?
Not yet. Safari 17 and later can; other browsers have been adding support.
Should I convert my photo library to JPEG XL?
Only if the software you use every day supports it. Keep originals regardless.