Just as most of us settled comfortably into using WebP, a newer contender showed up: AVIF (AV1 Image File Format). If WebP felt like a meaningful step up from JPEG, AVIF is closer to a full generational leap — and it's routinely described as the most efficient image format currently in use.
Why AVIF Keeps Winning the Speed Tests
AVIF is built on the AV1 video codec, originally engineered for 4K and 8K streaming, which gives it an unusually strong foundation for still images too. It can take a 1MB JPEG and compress it down to around 50KB with essentially no visible quality loss. It also supports 12-bit color, transparency, and HDR — putting it ahead of WebP across nearly every technical measure. For anyone chasing a strong Google Lighthouse score, AVIF is close to the ideal outcome.
Is It Time to Actually Switch?
Browser support used to be the sticking point holding AVIF back, but that's largely resolved as of 2026 — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all support it now. The sensible approach is treating AVIF as your primary format and keeping a WebP fallback around for older or less common setups. Converting an existing image library over to this dual-format approach is exactly the kind of tedious, repetitive task a tool like easypixelshift.com is built to handle — batch-processing a legacy library into a format that's actually ready for where the web is heading. Whether AVIF turns out to be the genuine "final form" of image compression or just the current leading edge, it's hard to argue it isn't the smart choice right now.