Skip to Content

Apple Adds WebP Image Support in Safari 14

by

During today's WWDC Keynote, Apple showed off the latest version of macOS Safari that will ship with iOS 14 and macOS 11 Big Sur.

In the developer notes, Apple notes that it has added WebP image support for the first time in Safari.

apple macos bigsur safari improvedtabs 06222020
WebP is a newer image format developed by Google and announced in 2010. It provides lossy and lossless compression with smaller file sizes as compared to JPEG and PNG files. Compared with JPEGs, WebP is said to offer 25-35% smaller file sizes for the same quality. The addition of animation also allows it to also serve as a substitute to animated GIFs.

WebP images are supported in Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge browsers, but has been notably absent from both iOS and macOS Safari. The addition to Safari makes the format more likely to receive widespread adoption.

Tags: Safari, WebP
Related Forums: iOS 14, macOS Big Sur

Top Rated Comments

Jeaz Avatar
Jeaz
75 months ago
But no WebM?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
MattakiStar
75 months ago
I’m sure this format is fine, but I have grown so distrustful of Google, that I really want nothing to do with anything they have touched.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H
Herbert123
75 months ago

Please let us be able to turn it off or at least download a JPG. Until editing tools widely support WebP this is a headache.
Why? All conversion tools, and most image editors (but for Photoshop curiously enough) already support it: PhotoLine, Krita, Affinity (import), Gimp, Sketch, and so on. And for Photoshop users plugins exist to handle the file format.

Besides, JPG wouldn't work for a large portion of webp images anyway: webp supports full transparency, which jpg does not. And webp images may be saved as lossless, which is not possible in JPG either.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gmanist1000 Avatar
gmanist1000
75 months ago
Thanks Pied Piper
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Brien Avatar
Brien
75 months ago
Please let us be able to turn it off or at least download a JPG. Until editing tools widely support WebP this is a headache.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
John.B Avatar
John.B
75 months ago
But does it play back 4K YouTube? That’s the only reason I haven’t switched from Chrome.
4K YouTube is coming to TV4K ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/06/22/tvos-14-youtube-videos-in-4k/'), so I imagine the other image formats are coming as well. We’ll know once people have had time to dissect the betas.

The addition of animation also allows it to also serve as a substitute to animated GIFs.
Can we all agree to pronounce this “web pee”? 🤣
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Released Seven New Products Today

Wednesday March 11, 2026 7:05 am PDT by
Starting today, the seven new Apple products that were announced last week are available at Apple Stores and beginning to arrive to customers. The colorful MacBook Neo and all of the other new products are on display at most Apple Store locations around the world starting today. Apple Stores have inventory of the new products for both walk-in customers and Apple Store pickup, but...
Read Full Article • 22 comments
ios 26 4 yellow

Everything New in iOS 26.4 Beta 4

Monday March 9, 2026 3:50 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to test the iOS 26.4 beta, and the latest update is now available for developers and public beta testers. As testing goes on, there are fewer new features in each beta, but today’s release adds new emoji characters and a few other changes. New Emoji Apple added new emoji characters, including trombone, treasure chest, distorted face, hairy creature, fight cloud, orca,...
Read Full Article • 71 comments
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Apple Planning 'MacBook Ultra' With Touchscreen and Higher Price

Sunday March 8, 2026 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch an all-new "MacBook Ultra" model this year, featuring an OLED display, touchscreen, and a higher price point, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Gurman revealed the information in his latest "Power On" newsletter. While Apple has been widely expected to launch new M6-series MacBook Pro models with OLED displays, touchscreen functionality, and a new, thinner design...
Read Full Article • 490 comments