Perceptual Image Codec: What Matters in Practical Learned Image Compression

PICO (Perceptual Image Codec) is a learned image compression model optimized for human visual perception via large-scale subjective studies and search over millions of configurations. It achieves 2.3-3x bitrate savings over AV1, AV2, VVC, ECM, and JPEG-AI, with 20-40% savings over top learned codec alternatives, running on-device on iPhone 17 Pro Max. Relevant to teams building image pipelines where bandwidth or storage costs matter.