AV2, AV1's successor, is finalized - no browser opens it yet
The Alliance for Open Media finished the AV2 video codec specification in May 2026, promising roughly 30 percent smaller files than AV1 at the same quality. No browser, phone, or streaming device decodes AV2 yet, so nothing changes for the videos you convert or upload today - keep using AV1, H.264, or VP9.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-08
What happened
AV1, the royalty-free codec most of today's video converters target, shipped in 2018. AOMedia - whose members include Google, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, and the major chipmakers - began AV2, its successor, in 2020, targeting a 2025 finish. The specification reached version 1.0.0 on May 28, 2026, about six months late, and AOMedia's official release announcement followed on June 9, 2026.
AOMedia frames this as a starting point, not a finish line: the spec is done, but the encoders, decoders, conformance testing, and hardware acceleration that put AV2 in front of viewers still have to be built. AV1 itself took roughly two years after its 2018 release before decoding became common across browsers and devices.
| Codec | Released | Typical file-size savings | Browser support today |
|---|---|---|---|
| AV1 | 2018 | Baseline for comparison | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari 17+ |
| AV2 | Specification finalized May 2026 | About 30 percent smaller than AV1, up to about 40 percent for screen recordings and HDR | None yet |
Decoding an AV2 file also takes noticeably more computing power than AV1 - reference-software engineers estimate two and a half to five times the work, and that software is still being optimized rather than production-ready. VideoLAN has released an early open-source decoder called dav2d, and chip designers Allegro DVT, Chips&Media, and VeriSilicon have announced AV2 decoder hardware, but no shipping phone, laptop, or TV has it yet.
Why it matters for everyday video files
AV1 earned its place because it is free to use and plays in every major browser without a plugin - why video converters default to it. AV2 keeps that royalty-free promise between AOMedia members, and the extra compression matters most for large 4K or HDR footage, where a smaller file means a faster upload and less storage used. One wrinkle: Sisvel, a patent-licensing firm not bound by AOMedia's commitment, plans an AV2 patent pool like the one it built for AV1 - which could eventually charge device makers outside AOMedia's membership, even though the codec stays marketed as royalty-free.
What to do with your files right now
The playbook while AV2 has zero device support:
- Keep converting to formats that already play everywhere. The video converter still targets AV1, H.264, and VP9 - the AV2 announcement changes nothing about what to upload today.
- Pick a codec and container by what plays for your audience, not by what is newest. The MP4 vs WebM for the web guide covers that trade-off for formats you can use right now.
- Watch for a browser flag, not a press release. AV2 becomes safe to test the same way JPEG XL did: behind an experimental flag in a browser build. A finished specification is advance notice, not a signal to change any workflow yet.
- Do not re-encode existing footage into AV2. With no hardware decoders shipping and decode still several times more demanding than AV1, converting archives now would only produce files fewer devices can open. Revisit once real decode support lands, around 2028 onward.
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