Apple will add AVIF support to iOS, MacOS and Safari

[Stig Nygaard]

Apple adding AVIF image support to iOS 16 and macOS 13 - 9to5Mac

Safari 16, which is the latest version of Apple’s web browser that comes pre-installed with iOS 16 and macOS 13,...

9to5mac.com

Apple will add AVIF support to upcoming versions of iOS, MacOS and Safari.

AVIF is a modern image format with similar features as HEIC images. And in some ways a bit better. Unlike HEIF/HEIC, AVIF is royalty free to use and thus with larger potential for web-use. Chrome and Firefox already supports AVIF, and Apple never added HEIC support to Safari even though it was supported by their OS.

While dpreview have high thoughts about HEIF/HEIC, I have never seen much future in the format because it wasn't royalty free. The slightly newer AVIF format has more potential, although I expect the even newer JPEG XL format to take over in the long run when supports get more widely implemented (including in browsers).

 

[foot]

https://9to5mac.com/2022/07/15/apple-avif-image-safari-ios-16-macos-13/

Apple will add AVIF support to upcoming versions of iOS, MacOS and Safari.

AVIF is a modern image format with similar features as HEIC images. And in some ways a bit better. Unlike HEIF/HEIC, AVIF is royalty free to use and thus with larger potential for web-use. Chrome and Firefox already supports AVIF, and Apple never added HEIC support to Safari even though it was supported by their OS.

While dpreview have high thoughts about HEIF/HEIC, I have never seen much future in the format because it wasn't royalty free. The slightly newer AVIF format has more potential, although I expect the even newer JPEG XL format to take over in the long run when supports get more widely implemented (including in browsers).

it's really, really hard to get new general-purpose image/video file formats wide-support

there's just not much benefit to it

no matter how simple it's code is packaged up to use (dll, library, source code) it can always introduce broken features, program crashes, vulnerabilitieas, malware

and it creates a new layer of tech, which is dependant on outside organizations to maintain, fix, document, test

and there is always the risk of lawsuits over IP

even if the code is "royalty free" doesn't mean there aren't restrictions on how it can be used

and if the company starts blindly accepting the "latest, greatest" version of the code, doesn't mean the new version is "clean" of IP restrictions and other legal issues

there's actually many real life examples of this

look at the populare program "Audacity" widely used, then it was bought out, and the new version released has new licensing "terms of service" and other potential issues

 

[Johan Borg]

and if the company starts blindly accepting the "latest, greatest" version of the code, doesn't mean the new version is "clean" of IP restrictions and other legal issues

And that's the precise reason why AVIF is interesting: It's specification was made by Alliance for Open Media, which exists solely for the purpose of creating open formats free of IP restrictions.

Its members include both Apple and Samsung, Microsoft and Google, Intel and Arm, Nvidia and AMD, Meta and Snap - the biggest competitors in their fields got together to ensure a proper free alternative to the IP mess of MPEG.

There's no guarantee that new formats don't infringe on existing IP, but at least Netflix and Youtube consider the risk low enough to heavily use AV1 - the video format AVIF is derived from.

 

[CAcreeks]

Great news, and answers this thread:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65881017

GIMP supports AVIF in release 2.10.22, so it's time for me to upgrade!

https://www.gimp.org/downloads/

AVIF looks like the future, so all you iPhone users with HEIC will have to retro-convert. Yup, using GIMP I opened a HEIC from a friend's iPhone, exported it as AVIF, and opened it with qView. MacOS 12.5 Preview can't open it.