Google Chrome has reached version 145, marking a significant update rolled out to users on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android platforms.
One of the most notable additions is the return of support for the JPEG XL image format, which Google had previously deprecated and removed back in 2022. This modern, royalty-free format delivers superior compression compared to traditional JPEG, and that it's designed to be backward compatible, meaning existing JPEG images can be transcoded into JPEG XL with no loss in quality.
For this reintroduction, Chrome employs a memory-safe Rust-based decoder called jxl-rs instead of the earlier C++ libjxl library, prioritizing security and reliability.
While the feature is now included in the stable release, it's initially available as an origin trial and requires users to manually enable it via the chrome://flags page by searching for and turning on the "enable-jxl-image-format" option.
Once activated, Chrome will handle JPEG XL images natively, adding "image/jxl" to its accept headers for better compatibility with sites that serve them.
JPEG XL (often abbreviated as JXL) is a modern, open-standard image format developed by the JPEG committee as the official successor to the classic JPEG format. Standardized in 2021-2022, it aims to deliver superior compression, higher quality, and a broader set of features while maintaining compatibility with the decades-old JPEG ecosystem.
It's designed for everything from web images and photography to professional use cases like HDR content, animations, and archival storage.
What sets JPEG XL apart is its ability to significantly outperform older formats in file size without sacrificing visual quality. For lossy compression (where some data is discarded for smaller files), JPEG XL typically produces images that are around 60% smaller than traditional JPEG at comparable perceptual quality. It achieves this through advanced techniques like modular coding tools, better perceptual optimization, progressive rendering (images appear quickly at low quality and refine as more data loads), support for higher bit depths (up to 32 bits per channel), wide color gamuts, HDR, transparency (alpha channels), layers, animations, and even thumbnails embedded in a single file.
A standout feature is lossless transcoding from existing JPEG files: peple can convert a regular .jpg to .jxl losslessly (no quality loss at all), often shrinking the file by 16-22% while preserving the exact original data, including metadata and bitstream details.
JPEG XL combines the best of everything: backward compatibility with the massive JPEG world, top-tier compression that beats or matches the newest alternatives, and a rich feature set that makes
In other words, JPEG XL enables smaller file sizes without sacrificing quality, along with features like progressive decoding for faster perceived loading, HDR and wide color gamut support, high bit depth, lossless options, and even animation capabilities.
JPEG XL excels MozJPEG and WebP in compression efficiency. JPEG XL however is close to AVIF, which excels at extreme low-bitrate compression. However, AVIF lacks native progressive decoding in the same flexible way and can be slower to process.
With Chrome's dominant market share, returning its support for JPEG XL, the moment could accelerate broader adoption of JPEG XL across the web.
Developers and content creators are more likely to embrace the format, leading to quicker page loads, reduced bandwidth consumption, lower hosting costs, and improved overall performance for image-heavy websites.
Beyond images, Chrome 145 brings several other enhancements to improve the browsing experience.
For example, web developers gain better tools with support for the text-justify CSS property, which refines text alignment options, and advanced multi-column layout features, including column-height and column-wrap properties that allow content to wrap neatly to additional columns instead of overflowing. Security sees a boost from device-bound session credentials, which tie session cookies to specific hardware using stored keys, making it much harder for stolen credentials to be abused elsewhere.
Other notable changes include an SQLite backend for IndexedDB to enhance database performance and reliability, reduced user-agent strings enabled by default for greater privacy and a leaner web footprint, and upsert functionality for more efficient data handling in storage APIs.
There are also refinements to visual rendering, such as improved shadows and clipping on elements with near-circular border-radius, better handling of animations with the onanimationcancel event, and customizable select elements for more flexible form controls.
A handful of deprecations accompany the update, including the removal of support for certain legacy virtual cameras on macOS and embedded JPEG/PNG in BMP files. The release also incorporates multiple security fixes to address vulnerabilities.
Overall, Chrome 145 reflects Google's ongoing push toward a more efficient, secure, and visually capable web, with the JPEG XL support standing out as a particularly forward-thinking step that could reshape how images are delivered and experienced online in the years ahead.