Move over, WebP; step aside, PNG; look out, VP9: a new and improved format for image sharing is coming soon: GIF 2.0 (GIF 26a, really, as that will be the new version in the header).

A consortium of geeks and old format heads seems to have taken a big sip from their “let’s show the youngins how it’s done” juice, and word is that a specification for a brand new GIF version is making its way to being published rather fast. There is, however, some bad coming with the good. While there are tons of improvements and exciting new features that you can read about below, the new specification is unlikely to be backwards compatible, as key GIF concepts are fundamentally changed. This, of course, means that even if the specification is out soon, the implementation and overall adoption could take a while.