What is HEIC? Everything You Need to Know About iPhone's Image Format
If you own an iPhone, there is a good chance your photos are saved in a format called HEIC. You might not have noticed until you tried to share a photo with a Windows user, upload one to a website, or open one in an older image editor. Suddenly, nothing works. That is the HEIC compatibility problem, and it affects millions of people every day.
Here is everything you need to know about HEIC: what it is, why Apple uses it, and what to do when you need your photos in a more compatible format.
What Is HEIC (and HEIF)?
HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. It is based on HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format), which uses the HEVC (H.265) video codec for image compression. Apple adopted HEIC as the default photo format on iPhones starting with iOS 11 in 2017.
The terms HEIC and HEIF are often used interchangeably. Technically, HEIF is the format specification and HEIC is Apple's specific implementation using HEVC compression. For practical purposes, they mean the same thing: the image format your iPhone uses.
Why Does Apple Use HEIC?
Apple switched from JPG to HEIC for one big reason: file size. HEIC achieves roughly 50% smaller files than JPG at the same visual quality. On a phone with 128GB or 256GB of storage, that means you can store roughly twice as many photos.
But file size is not the only advantage. HEIC also supports features that JPG cannot match:
- Live Photos. HEIC containers can store both the still image and the short video clip that makes up a Live Photo in a single file.
- Depth maps. Portrait mode depth data is embedded directly in the HEIC file, enabling after-the-fact bokeh adjustments.
- HDR support. HEIC supports 10-bit color depth and HDR metadata, preserving the full dynamic range of modern camera sensors.
- Multiple images. A single HEIC file can contain multiple images, which Apple uses for burst shots and image sequences.
- Non-destructive edits. Edit operations can be stored as metadata without modifying the original image data.
The Compatibility Problem
HEIC's biggest weakness is compatibility. Outside the Apple ecosystem, support is limited:
- Windows. Windows 10 and 11 can view HEIC files, but only after installing the free HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store. The HEVC Video Extensions (needed for full support) costs $0.99.
- Web browsers. No major browser except Safari supports HEIC natively. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge cannot display HEIC images. This means you cannot use HEIC images on websites.
- Social media. Most platforms accept HEIC uploads (converting on their end), but some older or less mainstream platforms may reject them.
- Image editors. Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom support HEIC, but many free and open-source editors do not. GIMP added HEIC support only recently.
- Email. Some email clients and webmail interfaces cannot preview HEIC attachments.
HEIC vs JPG Comparison
Here is how HEIC and JPG compare across key features. HEIC offers roughly 50% smaller file sizes at the same quality, supports up to 16-bit color depth and HDR, and includes transparency support. JPG is 8-bit only with no HDR or transparency but has universal browser and editing software support. HEIC uses HEVC-based lossy compression while JPG uses DCT-based lossy compression. HEIC can store multiple images (bursts, sequences) while JPG cannot. The key tradeoff is that HEIC is limited to Safari for browser support and has HEVC patent licensing, while JPG is royalty-free and works everywhere.
How to Check If Your iPhone Photos Are HEIC
To check your current camera format setting on iPhone: Open Settings, scroll down and tap Camera, tap Formats, and you will see two options: High Efficiency (HEIC) and Most Compatible (JPG).
If "High Efficiency" is selected, your photos are being saved as HEIC. This is the default on all iPhones since 2017.
How to Switch Your iPhone to Save as JPG
If you want to avoid HEIC entirely, you can change your iPhone camera format: Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and select Most Compatible.
This tells the camera to save photos as JPG and videos as H.264 MOV. The trade-off is larger files, which means less storage for photos and videos. Most people prefer to keep HEIC for the storage savings and convert individual files when needed.
When Should You Convert HEIC to Another Format?
You will want to convert HEIC files when:
- Sharing with non-Apple users. Windows and Android users may not be able to open your photos without extra steps.
- Uploading to websites. Web browsers do not support HEIC, so any image for web use needs to be JPG, PNG, or WebP.
- Editing in non-Apple software. If your editor does not support HEIC, convert to PNG (lossless) or JPG (smaller) first.
- Archiving in a universal format. If long-term compatibility is a concern, JPG or PNG are safer bets.
Privacy-First Conversion
Most online HEIC converters upload your photos to a server for processing. That means your personal photos pass through someone else's infrastructure. imageconvert.co takes a different approach: all conversion happens entirely in your browser using WebAssembly. Your files never leave your device. No upload, no server processing, no privacy risk.