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Journey to JPEG XL: How open source experiments shaped the future of image coding

by Jyrki Alakuijala , Zoltán Szabadka & Luca Versari , Paradigms of Intelligence, Google Technology & Society

Building the Next Generation Image Standard

The internet runs on images. Since the early days of the web, there has been a relentless tension between visual fidelity and bandwidth. For decades, the industry relied on the venerable JPEG standard for images loading fast. It served us remarkably well, but as displays moved to High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Wide Color Gamut (WCG), the format began to show its limits.

The road to JPEG XL ( JXL ) wasn't a straight line. It was a decade-long exploration, creating a series of milestone projects testing radical ideas in psychovisual modeling, entropy coding, and optimization. Today, as JPEG XL sees rapid adoption across operating systems and professional standards, we’re looking back at the experiments that made it possible.

Our study began with a focus on understanding the limits of existing technology. We didn't start by trying to write a new standard; we started by trying to make the current ones better, and learning their limitations. This allowed us to make the new formalism more flexible and efficient in the right places.