The PNG (Portable Network Graphics) image format, which first appeared in 1995, has now been updated. According to ProgramMax, the news comes from the World Wide Web Consortium.

This file format has been recommended by the W3C for internet use since 1996. Its second version was released in 2003. Now, PNG has received its third edition - the first significant update in over two decades. PNG v3 has been officially adopted as a W3C standard effective June 24, 2025.

The new standard offers several important features, including support for HDR images. By utilizing the compact cICP profile, HDR versions of PNG can be only 16 bytes larger than standard SDR versions. Additionally, PNG 3 supports EXIF data, such as camera model information and GPS coordinates, which were previously only available for JPEG.

Another innovation is the official inclusion of animated PNGs (APNG) into the standard. While APNGs existed earlier, their official recognition now paves the way for broader support in software applications.

The development of the third version of PNG began in 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 enhance lossless compression and improve HDR compatibility on SDR displays and vice versa.