The Rise of Next-Gen Image Formats

The Rise of Next-Gen Image Formats

The Rise of Next-Gen Image Formats

As websites demand faster load times and richer visuals, legacy formats like JPG and PNG are being replaced by modern alternatives: WEBP and AVIF. Both offer superior compression and quality—but they’re not created equal.

Technical Comparison

Compression Efficiency

AVIF generally provides **20–30% smaller files** than WEBP at the same visual quality, thanks to its foundation in the AV1 video codec. For high-traffic sites, this can mean significant bandwidth savings.

Image Quality

AVIF supports 10-bit and 12-bit color depth, HDR, and wider color gamuts—ideal for premium photography or e-commerce. WEBP is limited to 8-bit but still outperforms JPG in most cases.

Transparency & Animation

Both support alpha transparency and animation. However, WEBP’s animation support is more mature and widely used (e.g., in Google products).

Browser Support in 2025

  • WEBP: Supported by **all major browsers** since 2020 (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari 14+).
  • AVIF: Supported in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge—but **Safari only added full support in iOS 16 / macOS Ventura (2022)**. Older Apple devices still can’t display AVIF.

When to Use Which?

✅ Use WEBP if:

  • You need broad compatibility (including older iOS)
  • You’re optimizing a general-purpose website
  • You want a safe, proven upgrade from JPG/PNG

✅ Use AVIF if:

  • Your audience uses modern browsers
  • You prioritize maximum compression (e.g., image-heavy portfolios)
  • You work with HDR or wide-color content

How Convertipic Helps

Convertipic supports **one-click conversion to both WEBP and AVIF**. Upload any image (JPG, PNG, TIFF, etc.), choose your target format, and download instantly. No quality loss, no watermarks.

Pro tip: Convert to **both formats** and use HTML’s `` element for adaptive delivery:


  
  
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Final Thoughts

WEBP is the safe, universal choice today. AVIF is the future—but not yet universal. With Convertipic, you can prepare for both, without installing a single tool.

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