HEIC vs JPG: what iPhone photos are and how to open them anywhere
You upload a photo to a website or send it to a Windows PC, and it won’t open. The file ends in .heic. Here is what that means and the simplest ways around it.
What HEIC is
HEIC is Apple’s name for photos stored in the HEIF format, compressed with the same technology used for HEVC video. iPhones have used it by default since iOS 11 in 2017.
Its big advantage is size. A HEIC photo is typically around half the size of a JPG of similar quality, which saves a lot of storage across thousands of pictures.
Why some places can’t open it
JPG has been universal for decades. HEIC support is still patchy: many upload forms only accept JPG or PNG, older Windows PCs may need extra extensions from the Microsoft Store, and some photo printing services and older apps reject it.
Convert HEIC to JPG
The photos are decoded on your own device, so personal pictures are never uploaded. Location data is removed as part of the conversion.
Expect the JPGs to be larger than the HEIC files, often one and a half to two times. That is normal: JPG needs more data for the same quality.
- Open HEIC to JPG on 10MinuteConvert and add your photos. You can add many at once.
- Keep JPG as the format for the widest compatibility. Quality around 90% looks identical to the original for everyday use.
- Press Convert, then save each photo or download them all as a ZIP.
Stop it happening in the future
- To shoot JPG from now on: on your iPhone go to Settings → Camera → Formats and choose Most Compatible. Photos will take more space.
- To keep HEIC on the phone but get JPG on your computer: Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic converts photos when you copy them over a cable.
- When sharing from the Photos app, many apps receive a JPG automatically, but files sent as attachments or through cloud links often stay HEIC.
The short version
HEIC saves space on your phone; convert to JPG whenever you need a photo to work everywhere.