Google Chrome Adds JPEG XL Support With 50% Better Compression

Google previously confirmed that it planned to integrate JPEG XL into Chromium, and the format is now arriving natively with Chrome 155.

Chrome 155 adds native JPEG XL support

JPEG XL, which uses the .jxl file extension, aims to provide a more efficient alternative to the traditional JPEG format.

Google says JPEG XL can deliver around 30% to 50% better compression than conventional JPEG images. Websites can therefore reduce image file sizes while maintaining similar visual quality.

The format also supports HDR photography and lossless JPEG transcoding, allowing existing JPEG files to move to JPEG XL without losing image data.

Google continues to recommend both AVIF and JPEG XL for modern web images. However, the company considers JPEG XL particularly suitable for some photography-focused workloads.

That distinction could make JPEG XL useful for websites that handle large amounts of photographic content, where reducing file sizes can improve bandwidth usage and page loading performance.

Google pushes for wider JPEG XL adoption

Google also participated in the Interop 2026 JPEG XL Investigation, an effort aimed at improving support and interoperability for the format across browsers.

The company says feedback from the web community has been positive and now encourages web developers and content creators to start experimenting with JPEG XL following the release of Chrome 155.

Broader browser support remains important for adoption. Mozilla was expected to introduce JPEG XL support with Firefox 157, but the feature has since been delayed to the next Firefox version.

With Chrome joining Safari and Firefox moving toward support as well, JPEG XL is becoming more practical for websites that previously had to rely on fallback formats for a large portion of their audience.

Native support across the major browsers could also help JPEG XL move beyond limited use cases and become a more common replacement for traditional JPEG images.

Chrome itself is going through other significant changes. Chrome 153 starts Google’s new two-week release cycle, giving users new browser versions more frequently.

Google is also continuing to refine Chrome’s AI features, with Chrome potentially getting an easier way to delete multiple AI Skills at once.