Abstract:
Google recently released Chrome 155 browser version, which not only brings a large number of new features and security updates, but also officially introduces native support for the JPEG XL (.jxl) image format. This means that Chrome has become another mainstream browser that supports this new generation of image formats after Safari. With Firefox recently joining the support camp, JPEG XL is accelerating towards mainstream applications.
Earlier this year, Google announced that it would integrate JPEG XL support in the Chromium browser engine. JPEG XL is generally regarded as an important upgrade solution to the traditional JPEG format. Compared with the JPEG standard that has been used for many years, the new format can significantly reduce file size while maintaining image quality. For a long time, Safari has been one of the few mainstream browsers to support the format, and now the arrival of Chrome 155 further expands the ecological coverage of JPEG XL.
According to Google, the biggest advantage of JPEG XL is compression efficiency. The format achieves approximately 30% to 50% additional compression compared to traditional JPEG, while providing native HDR support, lossless compression capabilities, and lossless transcoding of JPEG files. Google said that in many practical application scenarios, especially in high-quality photography image processing, JPEG XL often has advantages over AVIF, but officials still recommend developers to choose between the two formats based on specific needs.
In order to improve security, Google developed the JPEG XL decoder in Chrome using the Rust language. The company pointed out that the image decoder has long been one of the most vulnerable components of the browser, and the traditional C++ implementation has exposed a variety of security holes and potential attack surfaces. Through the memory safety features provided by Rust, Chrome can maintain high performance while reducing related risks.
In terms of performance optimization, Google stated that it has not sacrificed decoding speed because of the use of Rust. The development team used the SIMD instruction set, the secure SIMD abstraction layer, and a large number of performance optimization technologies for the jxl-rs project, while inheriting some of the optimization results in the libjxl reference implementation, so that the new decoder can still provide operating efficiency comparable to traditional high-performance implementations while ensuring security.
Google also revealed that during the development process, the company used various methods such as artificial intelligence code review and fuzz testing to fully verify jxl-rs. Test results show that no memory safety-related issues have been found so far, which provides a positive signal for future large-scale deployment.
In addition to technical improvements, Google said that an important reason for the return of JPEG XL to Chrome also includes broad support from the web developer community. The company actively participated in the Interop 2026 JPEG XL special research work to ensure that the implementation in Chrome can remain compatible with other browsers and provide developers with a consistent experience when building cross-platform applications.
With the official launch of Chrome 155, JPEG XL is gaining support from more and more browser manufacturers. Industry insiders believe that with higher compression efficiency, HDR support, lossless conversion capabilities and safer decoding implementation, this format is expected to gradually become an important choice for network image transmission and storage in the future.
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