HEIC is a great image file format that can save photos in half the size of JPG while still maintaining their quality. Apple adopted this format and made it the standard for its modern iPhones and iPads.
However, HEIC is not compatible with many other apps and platforms, so you may need to convert your HEIC pictures to JPG at some point. Here are some tips on how to do it easily.
1. Copy the HEIC image to the Files app
The HEIC image file format is a recent development in the photo and video world, adopted by Apple back in 2017. It preserves high quality while taking up less storage space than JPEG photos.
However, it’s still not widely supported by devices and apps outside of Apple. That’s why it’s a great idea to convert HEIC images to JPG before sharing them with other users.
One way to do this is to use dedicated HEIC converter apps from the App Store. These apps can automatically convert HEIC files to JPEG or PNG one at a time, or in bulk.
2. Open the Files app
With iOS 11 and later, your iPhone takes photos in HEIC/HEIF format, which offers better quality than old JPEG files. It also uses less storage than JPG and offers 16-bit color versus 8-bit.
However, HEIC has limited cross-platform compatibility and must be converted to JPG at some point. This can happen when you share HEIC images with someone who doesn’t have an iOS device or when you transfer your photos from an iPhone to a PC/Mac that doesn’t support HEIF.
To switch back to the default JPG format, you can go to Settings > Camera on your iPhone. Tap Formats, and then select Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency.
After this change, your iPhone will automatically convert all of the HEIC images you take to the JPG format as soon as they’re shared. This includes all HEIC photos you share via AirDrop or iMessage as well as those you send to yourself through Apple’s Mail app.
3. Drag the HEIC image to the desktop or Finder folder
HEIC is a newer Apple camera file format that can be useful when saving space on your iPhone. It requires just half the storage space of JPG, yet it can store more visual data.
If you shoot HEIC images and share them via popular social apps like Messenger or Instagram, they’ll automatically convert to JPG on your iOS device. Unfortunately, this means that the photos will lose some of their quality.
The good news is that there are a few ways to convert HEIC to JPG on an iPhone. One of the fastest and easiest methods is to simply copy and paste the HEIC image into the Files app.
Another way to automatically convert HEIC to JPG on an iOS device is to add the conversion option to Automator’s right-click quick actions. This will ensure that you can always convert the HEIC images you take to JPG without having to do it manually.
4. Convert the image
HEIC is a great format for iPhones as it stores images at half the file size of JPG with similar quality. It isn’t universally compatible though, so if you ever need to share a HEIC image with an iOS-unfriendly computer or website, you might run into some issues.
Thankfully, Apple has some simple solutions for automatically converting your HEIC images to JPG without the need to download a third-party app. The simplest way is to paste the image into the Files app and it will convert it for you.
The other quick option is to use the Automatic transfer setting on your iPhone (iPhone Settings > Photos > Transfer to Mac or PC). Once you do this, all of your HEIC images will be automatically converted to JPG when you share them.
