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AVIF: The Future of Digital Image Formats

The growth of the world wide web is closely tied to the proliferation of image-based data. As the internet evolves, the demand for faster, more efficient, and high-quality digital image formats continues to grow. Enter AVIF (AV1 Image File Format), a revolutionary image format that is shaping the future of digital media. Whether you’re a web designer, illustrator, photographer, digital advertiser, or a social media influencer, understanding AVIF is essential.

In this blog post, we’ll explore everything you need to know about AVIF: its origins, technical aspects, how it compares to other formats like JPEG and WebP, its benefits, and its role in the broader technological landscape.

What is AVIF?

AVIF, or AV1 Image File Format, is an image format designed to provide high-quality visuals at significantly smaller file sizes. It uses the AV1 video codec for image compression, a modern and royalty-free codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia). AVIF supports features such as: HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging for vibrant colours, transparency like PNG, lossless and lossy compression, depending on the need, and multi-layer imaging for complex use cases like animation or depth maps. Introduced in 2019, AVIF quickly gained traction as a successor to older image formats due to its superior compression efficiency and flexibility.

AVIF was developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), a consortium of tech giants that includes: Google, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, Apple, Mozilla, and Meta. AOMedia’s goal is to create open and royalty-free media formats to accelerate innovation and reduce dependency on proprietary formats. The AV1 codec, the backbone of AVIF, was a direct response to the licensing costs associated with other codecs like H.264 and HEVC. Netflix was one of the first major companies to experiment with AVIF, contributing to its adoption by showing how it could improve streaming services.

How Does AVIF Compare to Other Image Formats?

AVIF vs. JPEG

AVIF files are 50% smaller than equivalent JPEG images while maintaining the same visual quality, and supports HDR and 10-bit color depth, offering significantly better color reproduction compared to JPEG’s 8-bit limitation. Unlike JPEG, AVIF supports transparency, making it more versatile for web design.

AVIF vs. PNG

AVIF achieves up to 80% smaller file sizes compared to PNG for similar quality, and supports both lossy and lossless compression, while PNG only supports lossless compression. Both formats support transparency, but AVIF does so more efficiently.

AVIF vs. WebP

AVIF files are generally 20–30% smaller than WebP files while delivering comparable or superior quality. Both formats support transparency and animations, but AVIF offers better color depth and HDR support. WebP currently enjoys broader browser support, but AVIF is catching up.

AVIF vs. HEIC (HEIF)

HEIC, based on HEVC, is not royalty-free, making it less appealing for widespread use compared to AVIF. HEIC is widely used on Apple devices, but AVIF’s open nature is driving its adoption across platforms.

Key Benefits of AVIF

• Superior Compression Efficiency – AVIF is designed to deliver high-quality images at a fraction of the size of traditional formats. This reduces storage requirements and improves website performance.

High-Quality Visuals – AVIF supports 10-bit and 12-bit color depth (enabling smoother gradients), HDR imaging (making it ideal for modern screens and professional photography), and Chroma subsampling (which optimises compression for visual quality).

Versatility – AVIF supports advanced features such as transparency (perfect for web graphics and logos), animations (a lightweight alternative to GIFs), and lossless and lossy modes (catering to both archival and everyday needs).

Open and Royalty-Free – Unlike HEIC, AVIF is royalty-free, meaning anyone can use it without paying licensing fees. This makes it a preferred choice for developers and companies looking to minimise costs.

Environmental Impact – Smaller image files mean reduced bandwidth usage and lower energy consumption, contributing to a greener internet.

Challenges Facing AVIF

While AVIF offers numerous advantages, it also faces some challenges. Firstly, encoding and decoding AVIF images require more computational power compared to formats like JPEG and WebP. This can lead to slower processing times on less powerful devices. Secondly, although growing rapidly, AVIF is still not supported universally across all browsers, browser versions, and platforms. At the time of writing only Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera support AVIF. Older browsers and devices running older software may lack compatibility. And lastly, developers and designers accustomed to traditional formats need to adapt to AVIF’s tools and workflows.