The internet’s speed is dictated by a lot of things, but the size of the parts of the website you’re loading is a big one. The more “stuff” is on a page, the longer it takes to load, and photos can be rather space heavy. Google, however, has a clever way to speed up the internet, by making your photos a third smaller in file size while looking exactly the same.
Called Guetzli, which sticking with Google’s sweet tooth is Swiss for “cookie,” the new code crushes down the file size of photos, namely the JPGs that you see all over the internet. Basically, when you turn a photo into a JPG, you’re running it through a process where an algorithm strips out the detail that doesn’t “matter.” Think of it as the difference between a chocolate bunny that’s solid, and one that’s hollow; there’s less substance to the hollow one, but they both look like rabbits. Guetzli is essentially a better way to hollow out the bunny, with a much thinner shell.
Guetzli has a downside, as it takes longer to create the photos. But Google’s argument is that a little waiting for a render is worth a faster loading webpage. If you’re technically inclined, here’s the code to try it for yourself.
(Via The Verge)