The JPEG XL format, also known as JXL, is a relatively new image format that promises Better compression and quality than standard image formats. Despite its advantages, Android devices (with the exception of the Galaxy S24 Ultra) do not yet offer native support for this format. However, there are several ways to view JXL images on Android.
What is JPEG XL and why is it the future of imaging?
JPEG XL is another image format, just like PNG, JPEG, WEBP, etc. It is designed to better compress the size of RAW imageswhich is a very heavy image format, but also widely used today, since it contains absolutely all the image data and does not delete anything of the original capture made by the camera sensor.
A RAW image converted to JPEG XL It usually weighs three times lessalthough you should keep in mind that there is lossy and lossless JPEG XL. The lossy JPEG XL is (typically) 50% smaller than the lossless JPEG XL.
And to all these… How does JPEG XL compare to JPEG? Well, look at this table image size comparison compressed with these formats Using the S24 Ultra’s ExpertRAW mode:
JPEG XL compression not only reduces the weight of an image more than JPEG, but also remains more faithful to the original image. That is, it compresses better and loses less quality. So, Apple with the iPhone 16 Pro has made the definitive leap to JPEG XL, whose extension is “.jxl”, to better manage its RAW images.
How to View JPEG XL (JXL) Images on Android
Google has not yet prepared Android for viewing and creating JPEG XL images. Therefore, JXL support on Android depends entirely on manufacturers and individual apps. For now, these are all the options you have to enjoy JPEG XL on your Android phone or tablet:
Use an app to view JXL or convert images to JPEG XL
One of the simplest solutions is to use third-party applications available on Google Play Store. For now, the best app for this is “JPEG XL Image Viewer”, which allows you to open and view images in JPEG XL (.jxl) format without any problems. It also allows you to convert JPEG, PNG, WEBP and even PDF images to JPEG XL. This application can be easily downloaded and installed from the app store. And it’s free!
At the moment, the only browser that supports JPEG XL on Android is Firefox Nighta developer version of the legendary Firefox. However, support is not enabled by default, you need to enable it yourself by following these steps:
- Open Firefox Night in your Android.
- In the address bar type «about:configuration» and press Enter.
- In the search bar of the opened page, type «jxl«.
- You will see the option «image.jxl.enable«. Press the Toggle button below it and what said “false” should now say “REAL«.
List! Now you can visit any website that uses JPEG XL and you will be able to see the images. To check if it works, see this test website.
This manga reader supports JPEG XL on Android
Another interesting alternative is the Mihon application, a free and open source manga reader for Android which also supports JXL images. So if you have a comic, webtoon, manga or similar in JXL format and you don’t know which app to use to view it on your Android, try Mihon. It’s not in the Play Store, so you’ll have to download its APK from GitHub with the following link:
Download | Mihon APK
Which Android phones support JPEG XL as standard?
For now, we only know that the Galaxy S24 Ultra uses the JPEG XL format in Expert RAW mode to better compress the images taken with its camera. However, it is not certain that the Pro mode will be available for the entire “S Ultra” series from the first quarter of 2023. I started generating RAW by embedding a JPEG XL compressed photo into a DNG container. We don’t have phones to check this, but we use an Exif viewer like Jimpl You can check for yourself whether the DNG images taken with your Galaxy S Ultra are actually a JPEG XL.
The rest of the Android phones do not support JPEG XL in cameras or applications by default. By the way, There is no third-party camera app for Android (yet) that lets you take JPEG XL photos. (or in DNG with JXL inside). We will update this entry when this scenario in the Android ecosystem will change.
