HEIC vs JPG: What iPhone Photos Are Saved As, and When to Convert
If you have ever sent an iPhone photo to a Windows PC or tried to attach one to an online form, you may have met a file ending in .heic that wouldn't open. HEIC is simply the format iPhones use for photos by default. It is a good format, just not one that every device and website understands. Here is what it is, how it compares with JPG, and when converting is worth the trouble.
What HEIC actually is
HEIC files use HEIF, the High Efficiency Image File Format, an international standard published as ISO/IEC 23008-12. HEIF is a container: it can hold a single image, a collection of images or a sequence of images, along with metadata that describes them. The .heic extension means the pictures inside are compressed with HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), the same method many modern videos use.
Apple moved to it with iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra. In its support note on HEIF and HEVC, Apple says these formats "offer better compression than JPEG and H.264, so they use less storage space on your devices and iCloud Photos, while preserving the same visual quality." On an iPhone this is the High Efficiency option under Settings > Camera > Formats.
JPG (also written JPEG) is far older. The JPEG committee created the standard in 1992, and it is still the most widely supported photo format there is. Phones, computers, browsers, printers, photo kiosks and upload forms can almost all read a JPG.
HEIC and JPG side by side
| HEIC | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ISO/IEC 23008-12 (HEIF), first edition 2017 | ISO/IEC 10918, created in 1992 |
| File size | Smaller for the same visual quality | Larger for the same visual quality |
| Apple devices | iOS 11 or later, macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later | Yes |
| Android | Decoding supported from Android 8.0; individual apps vary | Yes |
| Windows | Needs Microsoft's HEIF Image Extension and HEVC Video Extensions | Yes |
| Websites and upload forms | Often not accepted | Almost always accepted |
| Several images in one file | Possible (collections and sequences) | No, one image per file |
The Android figure comes from Google's list of supported media formats, which shows HEIF decoding from Android 8.0. On Windows, Microsoft's store page for the HEIF Image Extension notes that the HEVC Video Extensions package must also be installed to view .heic files. So a PC that shows a blank thumbnail isn't broken; it is missing a codec.
When your iPhone already converts for you
You often don't need to do anything, because iOS converts on the way out in some cases. Apple says photos "might be converted to JPEG" when you import them to a Mac or PC, and that photos sent by AirDrop, email and other methods may be shared "in a more compatible format, such as JPEG" when the receiving device doesn't support HEIF. iCloud Photos keeps the original format.
Two settings control this:
- Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible makes the camera save new photos as JPG (and videos as H.264) from then on. Photos you have already taken stay HEIC, and each new photo takes more storage.
- Transfer to Mac or PC, at the bottom of the Photos settings (Settings > Apps > Photos on recent versions of iOS), has two choices. Automatic converts to a compatible format when you import to a computer. Keep Originals copies the HEIC files unchanged.
If the people you share with mostly use Windows, or you regularly upload photos to forms, Most Compatible saves a conversion step. If storage is tight and your photos mostly stay on Apple devices, High Efficiency is the better default.
When to convert, and when to leave it
Convert a copy when:
- a website or form rejects the file, or only lists JPG and PNG;
- someone on Windows, an older phone or a work computer can't open it;
- a print shop, kiosk or document system asks for JPG;
- you want to edit the photo in an app that doesn't read HEIC.
Leave it as HEIC when the photos live on Apple devices or in iCloud, and when you are archiving. Converting never adds detail, and every time a photo is saved again as JPG a little more detail is thrown away. Keep the HEIC originals and convert copies for sharing.
Choosing between JPG and PNG is simple. JPG is the right choice for email, messaging, upload forms and prints. PNG is lossless, so nothing more is thrown away, which suits a photo you plan to edit heavily, but PNG files of photos are usually much bigger than JPGs. Our guide to JPG, PNG and WebP goes into the trade-offs, including WebP for websites.
How to convert HEIC with our tools
- Open HEIC to JPG and click Browse, or drop your photos onto the page. You can pick up to 50 at once.
- Choose a Quality: High (bigger file), Medium or Small file. High suits printing and keeping; Medium is usually plenty for email and forms.
- Click Convert to JPG. Each photo takes a few seconds, because it is decoded on your own device rather than uploaded to a server.
- Download the JPG, or click Download all (ZIP) if you converted several.
- If a form has a file-size limit, open the JPG in the Image Compressor, move the Quality slider, pick a Max width such as 1920, and click Compress Image. The page shows how much smaller the file got.
- For a lossless copy to edit, use HEIC to PNG and click Convert to PNG. To turn the result into WebP for a website, open the JPG / PNG / WebP Converter, set Convert to WebP and click Convert Image.
One thing to know: the converted file is drawn fresh by your browser, so it doesn't carry over the photo's EXIF details, such as the date taken, the phone model and the GPS location. That is handy for privacy when you share a picture. If you are moving photos into a library that sorts by the date taken, though, keep the originals or use the iPhone's own transfer instead. Our guide to EXIF data explains what those hidden details are.
Quick answers
Is HEIC better quality than JPG?
At the same file size, HEIC generally keeps more detail; at the same visual quality, it takes less space. That is the whole point of the format. Converting a HEIC to JPG can't improve it, only match it or lose a little.
Will converting to JPG spoil my photo?
At High quality, most people won't see a difference on screen or in a normal print. If you plan several rounds of editing, convert to PNG first and save as JPG only at the end.
Why did my HEIC photo arrive as a JPG?
Your iPhone probably converted it while sending, because it judged that the other device couldn't read HEIF. That is expected behaviour, not an error.
My HEIC file won't convert. What now?
The file may be damaged or use a HEIC feature the converter doesn't support. Try exporting it again from the Photos app, or switch the camera to Most Compatible for future photos.
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