Modern Google is becoming the Microsoft of the 90s

I think you took the wrong enlargement pill.

"the annoying webp" AFAIK is the same problem as JPEG XL, apps just didn't implement it.

It is supported in browsers, which is good, but not in third party apps. AVIF or whatever is going to have the same problem.

Jpeg XL isn’t backwards compatible with existing JPEG renderers. If it was, it’d be a winner.

According to the video, and this article, JPEG XL is backwards compatible with JPEG.

But I'm not sure if that's all that necessary. JPEG XL was designed to be a full, long term replacement to JPEG. Old JPEG's compression is very lossy, while JPEG XL, with the same amount of computational power, speed, and size, outclasses it entirely. PNG is lossless, and thus is not comparable since the file size is so much larger.

JPEG XL, at least from what I'm seeing, does appear to be the best full replacement for JPEG (and it's not like they can't co-exist).

My understanding is that webp isn't actually all that bad from a technical perspective, it was just annoying because it started getting used widely on the web before all the various tools caught up and implemented support for it.

So… your solution is to stick with extremely dated and objectively bad file formats? You using Windows 95?

All the cool kids use .HEIF anyway

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't this like complaining that a PlayStation 2 can't play PS5 games?

You can't add new and better stuff while staying compatible with the old stuff. Especially not when your goal is compact files (or you'd just embed the old format).

Isn't that the same as other newer formats though?

There's always something new, and if the new thing is better, adding/switching to it is the better move.

Or am I missing something about the other formats like webp?

We need a file format that degrades into black and white over time.

"In the year two thouuusaaaaaannd, in the year two thouuusaaaaaannd"

Probably the least relevant benefit of APNG over GIF: Unlike GIF, I can even pronounce APNG with a soft G and not feel gross about it. (Like I’m betraying the peanut butter brand and my entire moral framework at the same time, y’know?)