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Image MIME Reference
AVIF

AV1 Image File Format

image/avif
VS

Wireless Bitmap

image/vnd.wap.wbmp
WBMP

A complete technical comparison of AV1 Image File Format and Wireless Bitmap — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

AVIF wins on browser support

Feature Support

Feature AVIF WBMP
Transparency (Alpha) Yes ✕ No
Animation Support Yes ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes ✕ No
EXIF Metadata Yes ✕ No
ICC Color Profile Yes ✕ No
AV1 Image File Format
image/avif
Extension
.avif
Container HEIF / ISOBMFF
Compression AV1 Lossy / AV1 Lossless
Algorithm
AV1
Color Depth 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit
Developed by Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia)
Released 2019
Magic Bytes
XX XX XX XX 66 74 79 70 61 76 69 66
Full AVIF reference →
Wireless Bitmap
image/vnd.wap.wbmp
Extension
.wbmp
Container WBMP Type 0
Compression Uncompressed
Algorithm
None
Color Depth 1-bit (Monochrome)
Developed by WAP Forum (Now Open Mobile Alliance)
Released 1999
Magic Bytes
00 00
Full WBMP reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser AVIF WBMP
Chrome Chrome
✓ 85+
 ✕
Firefox Firefox
✓ 93+
 ✕
Safari Safari
✓ 16+
 ✕
Edge Edge
✓ 121+
 ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
AVIF

AVIF Strengths

  • Best-in-class compression — typically 20–50% smaller than WebP at equivalent quality
  • Native HDR and wide color gamut (BT.2020) support
  • Supports 8, 10, and 12-bit color depth
Limitations
  • Encoding is highly CPU-intensive — significantly slower than JPEG or WebP
  • Requires Edge 121+ (not supported in earlier Edge versions)
  • Limited support in native desktop image viewers
WBMP

WBMP Strengths

  • Extremely low processing overhead made it perfectly suited for the ultra-low-power CPUs of late 1990s mobile devices
  • Tightly integrated into the WML (Wireless Markup Language) stack, enabling the first functional mobile internet experiences
Limitations
  • Completely obsolete and lacks support in modern operating systems and browsers
  • Limited entirely to 1-bit black and white (0 for black, 1 for white) with zero support for grayscale, color, or transparency
  • The lack of a strong file header signature makes automated MIME type detection highly unreliable

When to choose which format

AVIF
Use AVIF when…
  • Next-Gen Websites
  • HDR Photography
  • High-Quality Web Images
WBMP
Use WBMP when…
  • Legacy WML (Wireless Markup Language) Mobile Sites
  • Early Mobile Phone Icons and Operator Logos
  • Historical WAP Archival

More comparisons

AVIF vs ACES → WBMP vs ACES → AVIF vs APNG → WBMP vs APNG → AVIF vs AVCI → WBMP vs AVCI → AVIF vs AVCS → WBMP vs AVCS → All comparisons →
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