Question 45371 in Html Question posted in
Some basic documentation can be found here.

Why doesn't Edge Support AVIF images? – Html

Chrome and Firefox have supported AVIF images for some time now, and it is my understanding that Edge is based on Chromium, which caused me to assume that it too would support AVIF images.

However, I just tested an AVIF dependent application in Edge Version 110.0.1587.46, in Windows 10, and none of the AVIF images are being displayed.

Why aren’t AVIF images supported in Edge, given that Edge is based on a browser that does indeed support AVIF images?

Tags:

3

Answers


  1. 0

    As of October 2021, the AVIF image file format support was introduced in Google Chrome 85 and Firefox 93 versions. If your browser is currently on a newer version than one of these it also will be supported. Microsoft Edge isn’t currently supported, but since the new Microsoft Edge uses the same Chromium Engine it won’t be long until support is rolled out. However, there is an AV1 Extension add-on available to download on the Microsoft Store (https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/av1-video-extension/9MVZQVXJBQ9V?hl=en-us&gl=us&activetab=pivot%3Aoverviewtab). This provides support on Windows 10 devices and Edge if installed.

    PS:
    In Edge Canary 112, Microsoft is testing adding support for the AV1 Image File Format (AVIF) in the browser.

    Command-line flag: –enable-features=msEdgeAVIF

    Login or Signup to reply.
  2. 0

    Just to answer your question regarding Windows 11 Edge. Edge has the same "latest version" on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. However, .avif pics are also not supported on Windows 11 Edge.

    The lack of support for .avif in Edge is by design, out of compatibility concerns or something. AV1 Video Extension from Microsoft Store is used to enable you to view .avif pics on Microsoft Photos App, but won’t affect Edge.

    Good news is, as @D A has said, the Dev Team is testing to add support for .avif in Edge Canary.

    UPDATE

    As to the flag of –enable-features=msEdgeAVIF, you can go to a website for AVIF image check. In Edge Stable or Canary without this flag, you will have JPEG fallback image indicating that Edge is not supporting AVIF. Once you have enabled this flag in Canary, you will only have broken image icons. The only thing I can come up with to explain this is that enabling this flag informs the website that Edge is supporting AVIF, so it’s trying to render AVIF instead of using fallback JPEG. However, it can be a licensing issue, as Alex has said, so Edge is not able to show AVIF images for now.

    Login or Signup to reply.
  3. 0

    Update 2023-02-20 @ 22:23

    Alex Russell, Microsoft Partner PM on the Edge team and a Blink API owner has provided an update. It is a licensing issue holding things up.

    See here: https://toot.cafe/@slightlyoff/109899372183448386

    Waiting on licensing things to clear up. Unhappy with the delay, but unavoidable.

    I’ll leave my original answer below.

    The correct answer here is that we simply don’t know as of 2023-02-20. All we have is speculation. I cannot find any official word from Microsoft on it.

    Suggestions of a flag to enable AVIF support appear to have been hallucinated – they do not work, nor are they documented by Microsoft anywhere.

    The closest I can find to an official comment from Microsoft is from XuDong Peng-MSFT in this answer, in which they give this rather cryptic and vague reason:

    Unfortunately, currently Microsoft Edge does not support avif format files due to design.

    Of course, this makes no sense because other Chromium browsers and Firefox support AVIF just fine on Windows. So we can only speculate as to the reasoning given the silence from Microsoft, and the fully functioning implementations elsewhere. The format is open and royalty-free, so it can’t be a licensing blocker.

    Edge remains the only major browser that lacks AVIF support.

    Login or Signup to reply.
Please signup or login to give your own answer.

Back To Top
Search