Great Taste, Less Filling

## iOS9 supports `w` & `sizes`

Yoav’s hard work – [getting `w` descriptors and `sizes` support into 
WebKit](https://github.com/ResponsiveImagesCG/newsletters/blob/master/RICG-newsletter-2015-05-11.md#w-and-sizes-have-landed-in-webkit-nightlies) 
– is paying off. Support for both features has been [confirmed in iOS 
9 betas](https://twitter.com/AndyDavies/status/609028138639761408). 
Responsive image features are great everywhere, but they were really 
built for small screens. Landing resolution switching in the [most 
popular mobile browser in the 
world](https://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=1&qpcustomb=1) 
is a big, big deal. Both Chrome for Android and Lollipop web views 
[already support the features](http://caniuse.com/#feat=srcset); soon, 
most newish mobile devices will be fully `srcset` and `sizes` capable.

We’ve come so far since the first desktop implementations started to 
ship last fall. What better way to celebrate than by, oh, I dunno, 
buying something?

## Multi-threaded

Just get a load of [these new RICG Shirts! And 
hoodies!](https://cottonbureau.com/products/ricg-web-standard-mfg-corp)

Designed by [Geri](http://www.hellogeri.com/) in Nottingham.

## Wherin I continue to bang on about the importance Picturefill 2.3.1

Maybe you’ve heard? Picturefills <2.3.1 are holding back the progress 
of the platform. The RICG and friends are trying to make as much noise 
as possible about this – since I last shouted at you with a megaphone 
about it, both [Greg Whitworth at 
Microsoft](http://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2015/06/08/introducing-srcset-responsive-images-in-microsoft-edge/) 
and [Jeff Lembeck at A List 
Apart](http://alistapart.com/blog/post/picturefill-upgrade) have weighed 
in.

Greg’s post is particularly interesting, as it details the 
damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t dilemma that the prevalence of 
old Picturefills put his team at Microsoft in, re: `currentSrc`.

One last note: I mentioned that the official WordPress plugin had made 
the jump to 2.3.1 last week, but forgot to tell you that the [Drupal 
responsive images module did, 
too](https://www.drupal.org/commitlog/commit/42538/efc4a6af36c37830079d834e1430d0003c8c36ba). 
Upgrade your Drupals!

## Grab bag

- Jason Grigsby has almost completed his wondrously clear and concise 
series, “Responsive Images 101”. [Here’s the 
latest](http://blog.cloudfour.com/responsive-images-101-part-8-css-images/) 
on responsive images in CSS aka `image-set` (but not yet).

- Most of the performance talk about images focuses on how long they 
take to load over the wire, but that’s where their performance impact 
*begins*. Tim Kadlec took a deep dive into mobile image processing at 
Velocity Santa Clara, talking about how image processing actually works 
under the hood, and how images clog up small devices’ CPUs and memory, 
in addition to their internet connections. A great, technical talk with 
some important lessons and work-arounds: 
[slides](https://speakerdeck.com/tkadlec/mobile-image-processing-at-velocity-sc-2015), 
[video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP68rCjSSjM).

- Speaking of performance, here’s a nifty little library that uses CSS 
gradients as image placeholders, in order to reduce visually jarring 
image paints and help pages feel faster. Pairs well with 
[lazy](https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/module/filter-lazyload-images)-[loading](https://github.com/aFarkas/lazysizes).

- The Picturefill folks have added a [gotcha section to their 
docs](https://github.com/scottjehl/picturefill#the-gotchas), discussing 
common pain points: double downloads, Firefox bugs, `vw` vs `%`, and art 
directing down to no image at all using transparent gifs.

- [Smashing Book 
5](https://shop.smashingmagazine.com/products/smashing-book-5-real-life-responsive-web-design-ebook) 
with a respimg chapter by Yoav is out.

- Etsy [is 
using](https://twitter.com/lara_hogan/status/609371637591470080) 
`srcset` and `sizes` in their Seller Handbook articles. Their CMS 
integration appears to be [particularly 
impressive](https://twitter.com/lara_hogan/status/609371995617296385).

- Morten Rand-Hendriksen has been thinking deeply about how responsive 
images challenge some of the fundamental assumptions behind WordPress. 
He’s written not 
[one](http://mor10.com/wordpress-image-handling-in-a-responsive-images-world/), 
but 
[two](http://mor10.com/wordpress-responsive-images-and-dynamic-image-sizes/) 
posts on the topic.

See you in a couple of weeks!

—eric