As the PNG (Portable Network Graphics) image format commonly used on most web pages, the W3C World Wide Web Consortium has included the PNG 3.0 standard in the Recommendation level, making it an official web technology standard.
Compared to the initial versions that only focused on lossless compression and alpha channel transparency support, PNG 3.0 adds support for HDR high dynamic range image specifications, enabling it to present a wider brightness range and richer color levels, thereby improving the visual quality of online images and extending its application scope from early web design to higher-quality visual creation and professional content presentation.
Another highly anticipated upgrade is the addition of support for APNG (Animated PNG), which allows PNG format images to no longer only display static content but also have the ability to play animated images, thereby competing with the WebP format.
Among them, APNG was originally an unofficial extension format supported only by specific browsers and platforms. This time it has been included in the official specification, which means that the PNG format has officially been added to UI design that combines image quality and animated effects, and can be used in applications such as stickers or emoticons.
Currently, operating systems including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, iOS, and macOS, as well as software tools such as Adobe Photoshop, already support APNG, and even some hardware devices and computing chips already support it.
PNG 3.0 also supports EXIF information content, allowing PNG images to embed metadata such as the camera device, GPS location, copyright notice, etc., which is extremely practical for application scenarios such as photography post-production, content management and data archiving.
