The PNG image format, first introduced in 1995, has received a new version. ProgramMax reports this, citing the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
This file format has been recommended by the W3C for use on the internet since 1996. A second version was released in 2003. Now, a third version has been introduced, marking the first significant update in over two decades. PNG v3 has been officially approved as a W3C standard effective June 24, 2025.
The new standard brings several important features, including support for HDR-quality images. Utilizing the compact cICP profile, HDR versions of PNG may only be 16 bytes larger than standard SDR versions. Additionally, PNG 3 supports EXIF data, such as camera model information and GPS coordinates, which were previously typical for JPEG but unavailable for PNG.
Another significant addition is the official inclusion of animated PNG (APNG) support in the standard. While APNGs have existed before, they have only now been officially recognized, paving the way for broader software support.
The development of the third version of PNG has been ongoing since 2021 in collaboration with Adobe, Apple, and Google, so PNG 3 is already supported by Chromium-based browsers, Firefox, macOS, iOS, Adobe Photoshop, and DaVinci Resolve. In the future, the W3C plans to optimize lossless compression and improve HDR compatibility on SDR displays and vice versa.
