HEIC File, and How to Convert It to JPG
Although, under most circumstances, you will not even notice the file format of your photos, you may run into technical difficulties when transferring photo files from your iPhone to your computer or cloud storage as HEIC files are not supported by every device.
To save storage space on the iPhone, Apple, starting with iOS 11, created a new image file format for high–quality photos called HEIC.
What is an HEIC file ?
HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image File, Apple’s new image container format that compresses photos in order to save space.
Is HEIC better than JPG ?
Yes. Not only is the file size half that of a standard JPG, but the image quality is better, too.
How to transfer iPhone photos as JPG, not HEIC ?
- Navigate to your iPhone's settings.
- Tap Photos.
-
Scroll down to Transfer to Mac or PC and tap on Automatic.
This will transfer photos and videos in a compatible format. Photos will become JPGs before transferring.
How to stop your iPhone taking HEIC photos ?
If you do not want to deal with converting your HEIC photos to JPGs, then you can change the settings on your iPhone so that it stops using the HEIC format.
But remember:
You will be giving up smaller file sizes and better–quality images for the sake of convenience.
- Navigate to your iPhone's settings, scroll down, and tap Camera.
- Tap Formats.
- Tap to choose "Most Compatible" instead of High Efficiency.
My own personal advice is that if you want to easily view and manage your iPhone's HEIC photos, go and download PhotoScape X — it is FREE !
Just open it, open the folder where your photos are on your computer, select the photo, right click, and here you go: Change Format, Move To, Slide Show … and much more.
