Google Yields to Pressure as JPEG XL Support Creeps Back Into Chromium

Google has finally blinked. After three years of insisting that JPEG XL (JXL) was a format without a future, Chromium engineers have officially merged support for the codec back into the codebase. The move, which surfaced in the latest code commits this January, effectively ends a standoff that had become a symbol of Google’s unilateral control over web standards.

The reversal follows years of mounting friction. When Google gutted JXL support from Chrome 110 in late 2022, it dismissed the format by citing "insufficient ecosystem interest." The community didn't buy it. The decision ignited a firestorm on the Chromium bug tracker, racking up over 1,000 stars and drawing public rebukes from engineers at Meta, Adobe, and Intel. For developers, JXL wasn't just another acronym; it was the superior successor to the aging JPEG, offering better compression and more efficient rendering than Google’s own WebP.

The Rust-Based Peace Offering

This shift is the "silver bullet" that broke the deadlock. By leveraging Rust, developers have eliminated the use-after-free vulnerabilities and memory corruption bugs that historically plague C++ image decoders. Google’s architecture leads had previously signaled that memory safety was a non-negotiable prerequisite for the format's return. The community called their bluff. They optimized the Rust implementation until it wasn't just safer, but faster. Recent benchmarks show the new decoder outperforming its C++ predecessor by up to 34% in progressive decoding scenarios. It is faster, safer, and ready.

Ending the Image Format Cold War

Google’s capitulation changes the landscape for web performance overnight. With Chromium-based browsers commanding roughly 65% of the market, this merge effectively ensures JXL’s survival. It ends a frustrating era of fragmentation where developers were forced to juggle WebP, AVIF, and legacy JPEGs to balance quality and compatibility.

This move also forces Chrome back into alignment with the rest of the industry. Apple’s Safari has already baked JXL support into its ecosystem across iOS and macOS, and Mozilla’s interest has steadily climbed as the technical hurdles vanished. By re-integrating the code, Google is removing the last meaningful barrier to a universal, high-performance image standard. The "obsolete" label is gone; efficiency won.

Testing and Availability

As of mid-January, the JPEG XL decoder is live in the latest Chromium Canary builds. It remains tucked behind a feature flag for now, but the path to a stable release is clear.

• Full support for ICC color profiles and standard decoding.

• Alpha transparency and multi-frame animation support.

• Native High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Wide Color Gamut (Display-P3) capabilities.

For the broader web, the "dead" format is now on an aggressive trajectory toward the stable branch. Once it arrives, the combined weight of Safari and Chrome will provide the critical mass necessary for CDNs and developers to finally move past the fragmented mess of modern web imaging.