GOOGLE has released Chrome 155 with native JPEG XL (JXL) decoding enabled by default, removing the need for extensions or experimental flags to view JXL images and animations. The change follows a period in which Google reintroduced JXL support and a decoder, but required user action to enable it; Chrome 155 makes the feature official and always on across supported platforms.
JPEG XL is built on the ISO/IEC 18181 standard and offers both lossy and lossless compression, plus HDR support, wide colour depth, animations, and progressive decoding. Google asserts that, at equivalent visual fidelity, JPEG XL can cut file sizes by roughly 30–50% compared with traditional JPEG, and it also supports lossless transcoding of existing JPEGs while allowing the original image to be restored. However, actual compression gains depend on image content and the chosen settings.
Web developers are advised to test JPEG XL alongside AVIF and to provide fallbacks for non‑supporting browsers. While JXL can benefit high‑fidelity photography and progressive loading, compatibility remains uneven across niche or legacy browsers, necessitating alternative formats such as JPEG, WebP, or AVIF. Apple’s broad JXL support across iOS and related systems helped spur Google’s reinstatement of the feature.
Chrome 155 began rolling out on 7 October across Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android, and the ecosystem will likely see increasing adoption as sites and CDNs begin serving JXL images where supported.