WebP on Android

Android has supported WebP longer and more deeply than any other platform — unsurprising, since both WebP and Android come from Google. Chrome on Android rendered it from the start, the OS decodes it since Android 4.0, and Google Play uses WebP for app-store assets. This guide covers WebP across the Android ecosystem.

For the global picture, see WebP Browser Support. For the format, see What is WebP?.

Does Android support WebP?

Android supports WebP at the operating-system level since Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich, 2011), with lossless and transparency support added in Android 4.2.1. Chrome and the Android System WebView render WebP on web pages, and native apps can decode it directly. Support is effectively universal on modern Android.

Because Google develops both WebP and Android, the platform was an early and complete adopter.

Does Chrome on Android render WebP?

Chrome on Android renders WebP, as it has since WebP's earliest releases. Any WebP image on a web page displays correctly in Chrome, Samsung Internet, and other Chromium-based Android browsers. This covers the overwhelming majority of Android web traffic.

Android's web rendering shares Chromium with desktop Chrome, so WebP behaves identically across both.

How does Google Play use WebP?

Google Play uses WebP for app-store imagery such as screenshots and feature graphics, and Android Studio encourages WebP for app resources. Android Studio includes a built-in converter that turns PNG and JPG drawables into WebP to shrink the app's download size.

This makes WebP a native part of Android app development, not just web delivery. App icons and in-app images routinely ship as WebP.

How do native Android apps display WebP?

Native Android apps decode WebP through the platform's BitmapFactory and common image libraries. Libraries such as Glide and Coil load WebP the same as any other format, including animated WebP. Developers can use WebP drawables directly in app resources.

This OS-level decoding is why converting app drawables to WebP — often via Android Studio — reduces app size with no code changes.

How do you open a WebP file on Android?

Open a .webp file in Chrome or the Google Photos app, both of which display it directly. The Files app and most gallery apps also show WebP. To convert it to another format, use a browser-based tool.

Convert with no upload using WebP to PNG or WebP to JPG. Cross-platform steps are in How to Open a WebP File on Windows, Mac & Linux.

Where to go from here

Android is WebP's home turf: supported in the OS since 2011, rendered by Chrome, and used by Google Play and Android Studio to keep apps small. On Android, WebP is the default, not the exception.