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Supports: HEIC
.jpg and .jpeg if a downstream tool requires one or the other.HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the format the iPhone camera has captured by default since iOS 11 launched in September 2017 on iPhone 7 and later. It wraps an HEVC / H.265-encoded image in an HEIF container and produces files roughly half the size of an equivalent JPG. The catch: outside the Apple ecosystem, HEIC support is uneven, so converting to JPG remains the most reliable way to share, print, or edit iPhone photos.
| Property | HEIC | JPG (JPEG) |
|---|---|---|
| Codec | HEVC (H.265) intra-frame | JPEG (DCT, 1992 standard) |
| Typical file size at same visual quality | ~50% of JPG | 100% (baseline) |
| Bit depth | 8 / 10 / 12-bit | 8-bit only |
| Transparency (alpha) | Yes | No |
| Animation / image sequences | Yes (Live Photos, bursts) | No |
| HDR / wide color (Display P3) | Yes | Limited (mostly sRGB) |
| Native Windows support | Requires HEIF + HEVC extensions | Built in everywhere |
| Native macOS support | macOS High Sierra (10.13) and later | All versions |
| Browser support (caniuse) | Safari 17+, no Chrome/Firefox/Edge native | Universal |
| Print service acceptance | Limited | Universal |
| Patent / royalty status | HEVC has active patent pools | Royalty-free since 2006 |
| Platform | Opens HEIC natively? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| iOS 11+ / iPadOS | Yes | Default camera format on iPhone 7 and later |
| macOS High Sierra (10.13)+ | Yes | Photos, Preview, Quick Look |
| Windows 11 | Partial | HEIF Image Extension free; HEVC Video Extension typically $0.99 |
| Windows 10 | Partial | Same extensions required; OEM-bundled HEVC on some PCs |
| Android 10+ | Yes (most OEMs) | Decode support; some galleries still lack it |
| Android 9 and older | No | Use JPG |
| Chrome / Firefox / Edge | No | No HEIC decoder; convert before embedding |
| Safari 17+ | Yes | macOS Sonoma and iOS 17 onward |
| Photoshop | 2020+ on Windows; 2017+ on Mac | Older versions need a JPG copy |
| Most photo printers | No | Convert to JPG first |
| Preset | JPG quality | File size vs Highest | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest | ~95% | 100% | Archival prints, photo books, posters |
| Very High (default) | ~90% | ~70% | General sharing, social media at full res |
| High | ~85% | ~50% | Email, web embedding, online forms |
| Medium | ~75% | ~30% | Quick previews, thumbnails, low-bandwidth sharing |
| Low | ~60% | ~18% | Tiny files only — visible artifacts likely |
HEIC and JPG are both lossy, so re-encoding always introduces a small generation loss. At the default Very High preset (≈90% JPG quality) the difference from the HEIC original is imperceptible on phone, tablet, and standard monitor viewing. Keep the original HEIC if you plan to make multiple future edits — every re-save of a JPG accumulates loss.
HEIC's HEVC compression is roughly twice as efficient as JPEG for the same visual quality, so a 2 MB HEIC commonly becomes a 4-6 MB JPG at 90-95% quality. To produce smaller JPGs, lower the Quality Preset to High or Medium, or reduce resolution. Once the conversion is done you can also run the result through compress-jpg.
No. A Live Photo is a HEIC still plus a short MOV / HEVC video clip. This converter extracts the still image only and saves it as JPG. To keep the motion portion, export the video separately from the iPhone's Photos app or use convert-mov-to-mp4 for the clip.
Three common paths: (1) AirDrop to a Mac and drag in; (2) connect the iPhone to Windows by USB and copy from the Internal Storage \ DCIM \ 100APPLE folder; (3) open this page in Safari on the iPhone itself and pick the photos directly from the camera roll picker — works on every model since iPhone 7.
You can: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible switches capture to JPEG/H.264. The tradeoff is roughly 2× the storage per photo and per video. Many users keep the default High Efficiency setting and convert only the specific photos they need to share, which is what this tool is designed for.
Yes by default. The output JPG preserves the original capture timestamp, camera model, focal length, and GPS coordinates from the HEIC source so the photo lands in the correct chronological spot in Google Photos, Lightroom, or Apple Photos after re-import. Strip EXIF separately in your photo manager if you want to share without location data.
HEIC supports 10-bit color depth and HDR metadata; JPG is 8-bit and SDR only. The converter tone-maps 10-bit HDR HEIC down to standard 8-bit sRGB JPG so the file opens cleanly anywhere — but extreme highlights and deep shadows will be slightly compressed. For HDR-capable workflows, convert HEIC to PNG (8-bit) or keep the HEIC.
Yes. Upload as many HEIC files as your browser will let you select — there's no per-page count limit and no watermark on the output. Larger batches process sequentially and you can download all results as a single ZIP. For an entire iCloud library, do it in chunks of a few hundred to keep the browser tab responsive.
The free HEIF Image Extension only handles the container. The actual image data is HEVC-encoded, so you also need the HEVC Video Extensions package — and Microsoft removed the free retail version in 2023, leaving the $0.99 store version (or the OEM build pre-installed on some PCs). Converting to JPG with this tool is free and avoids the codec setup entirely.