Google has released Chrome 145 to the stable channel for Windows, macOS, and Linux. While the update includes many changes for developers and security teams, one feature that caught my attention is the return of JPEG XL image support.
Google removed JPEG XL support from Chrome back in 2022 after deprecating it, which disappointed many developers and image experts. At the time, Google argued that there was not enough ecosystem adoption. Four years later, Chrome 145 brings JPEG XL decoding back to the browser, which seems a clear change in direction.
JPEG XL support in Chrome 145 is currently behind a flag. Users need to enable the image format manually using the enable-jxl-image-format option. Google has also taken a different technical approach this time. Instead of the older C++ based libjxl library, Chrome now uses a Rust-based decoder called jxl-rs. Google says this improves memory safety, which is a key focus area for the Chrome team in recent years.
JPEG XL is designed as a modern image format that offers better compression than JPEG, while keeping high visual quality. It also supports features like lossless compression, HDR images, and faster decoding in some cases. For websites that rely heavily on images, this could mean smaller file sizes and quicker load times. However, since the feature is still gated behind a flag, it is not yet ready for mainstream use.
Beyond images, Chrome 145 introduces several meaningful updates to web standards. One of the most practical changes is support for wrapping in multi-column layouts. With the new column-height and column-wrap CSS properties, developers can control how content flows when it exceeds a column’s height. This solves a long-standing usability issue where users had to scroll awkwardly or deal with horizontal overflow when reading long content in columns.
Chrome 145 also adds support for the text-justify CSS property and allows percentage values for letter spacing and word spacing. These changes give designers more control over typography and layout, especially for long-form reading experiences.
On the security side, Google has introduced device-bound session credentials. This feature allows websites to bind login sessions to a specific device using hardware-backed keys. Even if a session cookie is stolen, it becomes much harder to reuse it on another machine. This could significantly reduce certain types of account hijacking, especially for high-value services like banking or enterprise tools.
Another major internal change is the move to an SQLite backend for IndexedDB. While most users will never notice this directly, it could improve performance, reliability, and debugging for web apps that rely heavily on local storage.
Chrome 145 also continues Google’s effort to reduce passive tracking. By default, the browser now sends a more limited user agent string, which reduces the amount of device information exposed to websites. This may break some older scripts, but it aligns with the broader push toward better user privacy.
There are also many smaller updates. These include improved rendering of nearly circular elements, new animation event handlers, better support for customizable select boxes, and various updates to JavaScript, WebGPU, WebRTC, and performance APIs. As usual, Google has also patched multiple security vulnerabilities in this release.
From a broader perspective, the return of JPEG XL support is the most interesting signal. It suggests that Google is more open to revisiting past decisions when developer demand and technical maturity improve. Still, keeping the feature behind a flag shows caution. Google may be testing real-world usage before fully enabling it by default.
It will be interesting to see if JPEG XL support becomes enabled without flags in a future release; it could push wider adoption across the web. That would put pressure on other browsers and platforms to improve image handling as well. Chrome 146 is already scheduled for release on March 10, 2026, and it will be worth watching if JPEG XL moves closer to mainstream use by then.
