Chrome Banishes JPEG XL Photo Format That Could Save Phone Space

Google likes a rival format it helped develop, AVIF.

But Google’s Chrome team hasjust rejected the photo formatin favor of a rival technology.

Getting to that future, though, is proving messy.

There’s more to like aboutJPEG XLthan space savings.

Smartphone charging is split over USB-C and Lightning, thoughApple is moving away from its Lightning port.

Wireless charging didn’t catch on until the Qi standard vanquished incompatible rivals.

So maybe you’d better pay for the extra storage on your phone, Google Photos or Apple iCloud.

Google standing firm: No JPEG XL

Don’t expect Google to change its stance.

Adobe has built JPEG XL support into Photoshop, though it must be manually enabled.

E-commerce companyShopify likes JPEG XLfor its advantages portraying color and detail well, both important for product photos.

Even Google has fans too.

This includes support for reading and writing JPEG XL photos," Adobe said.

Mozilla and Facebook parent Meta declined to comment.

Intel had no comment.

JPEG XL isn’t the only way to improve image quality on the web.

HEIC, encumbered by patent licensing requirements, isn’t likely to succeed as a format on the web.

AVIF has some drawbacks compared to JPEG XL, like a reputation for being slower to create.

That could slow down photo slideshows on the web and hamper burst mode photography on your phone.

That helps websites load without elements jumping around.

With big names supporting it, AVIF could win out over JPEG XL.

But don’t expect to find out soon.

Next time you’re upgrading, think about skipping the 256GB phone and springing for 512GB of storage.