Why Apple Uses JPEG XL in the iPhone 16 and What It Means for Your Photos

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Apple’s move to use JPEG XL in iPhone 16’s ProRAW pipeline is seen as a boost for this newer, royalty‑free image standard, especially since it’s already supported in iOS/macOS and by some Android vendors. Commenters debate whether JPEG XL’s smaller file sizes meaningfully reduce environmental impact compared to the extra computation needed, while noting practical benefits for cloud storage, RAW workflows, and long‑term photo libraries. There is also frustration over fragmented format support (HEIC, AVIF, WebP, DNG/JXL) and inconsistent browser and OS adoption, which many see as the main barrier to JPEG XL becoming a universal JPEG replacement.

Significance of Apple adopting JPEG XL

  • Many see Apple’s move as a big inflection point for ecosystem adoption, though some argue Google/Chrome and Android support will still matter more for the web.
  • Using a common, royalty‑free standard (vs. Apple‑pushed formats) is viewed as a hopeful sign for broad, cross‑vendor uptake.
  • Some note Apple already added JPEG XL decoding in iOS 17/macOS 14; the iPhone 16 change is that it’s now in the camera pipeline (ProRAW).

Where and how Apple is using JPEG XL

  • JPEG XL is used inside DNG containers for ProRAW, replacing Lossless JPEG; regular photos still use HEIC.
  • JPEG XL is praised for high‑quality and lossless compression, higher bit depth than AVIF/HEIC in camera‑quality regimes, and good speed at practical settings.
  • JPEG XL itself isn’t a RAW container; DNG provides RAW metadata, JPEG XL provides the compression.

Environmental and efficiency debates

  • Some argue smaller cloud‑stored photos reduce energy and materials; others call this “whataboutism” and say storage energy is tiny compared to other emissions.
  • Several commenters assert compression/decompression cost is low, often less than transmission cost, and that better compression can even reduce decode energy.

Hardware, feature gating, and obsolescence

  • Confusion over why only iPhone 16 gets JXL in the camera; debate whether this is hardware‑acceleration driven or artificial feature gating to sell new phones.
  • Counterargument: older devices still work as before and already can view JPEG XL; “fake obsolescence” is contested.

Browser, OS, and ecosystem support

  • Chrome once had experimental JPEG XL and removed it; many hope Apple’s move will push Chrome and others to re‑enable it.
  • Firefox Nightly and some forks already have partial support; Windows 11 previews show hints of upcoming support.
  • Lack of universal browser support remains a blocker for using JPEG XL as a general web image format.

Tooling, migration, and web use

  • JPEG XL can losslessly recompress existing JPEGs and even be reversible back to the original JPEG; Linux tools exist, macOS tooling is missing.
  • Some argue there’s now no reason to serve legacy JPEG when JPEG XL is supported; others point out ecosystem and compatibility friction.

Comparisons to HEIC/AVIF and other formats

  • HEIC is a standard but was encumbered/licensed; JPEG XL is appreciated as royalty‑free and better for high‑quality and lossless use.
  • AVIF often wins at very low quality but is slower and worse at high‑fidelity/lossless; animated AVIF/WebP/APNG haven’t displaced GIF despite better tech.