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HEIC FORMAT

HEIC Converters

Convert iPhone's HEIC images to universally compatible formats.

About HEIC

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) uses HEVC/H.265 compression to deliver 40–50% smaller file sizes compared to JPEG at equivalent visual quality. Standardized by MPEG in 2015 and adopted by Apple in iOS 11 (2017), HEIC supports 8–10-bit color depth, HDR metadata, and image sequences. Files store efficiently but require modern decoders—native support is limited to iOS 11+, macOS High Sierra+, Android 10+, and Windows with extensions.

Learn more: HEIF on Wikipedia

HEIC is ideal for iPhone users who want maximum storage efficiency without visible quality loss. While Apple devices handle HEIC natively, sharing with Windows PCs or older Android devices often requires conversion for compatibility.

Quick Facts

Extension
.heic, .heif
Developed By
MPEG (ISO/IEC)
Adopted By Apple
iOS 11 (2017)
Compression
Lossy (HEVC/H.265)
Color Depth
8–10-bit typical
HDR Support
Yes (Display P3)
Image Sequences
Supported
Browser Support
Safari only

Convert from HEIC (4 tools)

HEIC to AVIF

Convert iPhone's HEIC format to next-gen AVIF images with maximum compression

HEIC to JPG

Convert iPhone's HEIC format to universally compatible JPG images

HEIC to PNG

Convert HEIC photos to PNG with lossless quality and transparency support

HEIC to WebP

Convert iPhone's HEIC format to modern, web-optimized WebP images

Frequently Asked Questions

What is HEIF vs HEIC? Are they the same?

HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) is the container format—a box that can hold images encoded with different codecs.

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is HEIF specifically using HEVC (H.265) codec—Apple's implementation.

Analogy: HEIF is like "video file," HEIC is like "MP4 with H.265." Other HEIF variants include AVIF (using AV1 codec).

In practice: When people say "HEIC" they almost always mean iPhone photos. The file extension .heic indicates HEVC-encoded images, while .heif could technically use other codecs (but rarely does). Our converters accept both .heic and .heif files.

Why does my iPhone save photos as HEIC?

Apple switched iPhones to HEIC in iOS 11 (September 2017) to save storage space. HEIC files are 40–50% smaller than equivalent JPEGs while maintaining the same visual quality.

This change affects iPhone 7 and newer models. Your phone silently saves every photo as HEIC unless you change the setting. The format uses HEVC (H.265) compression—the same technology used for 4K video—making it far more efficient than the 1990s-era JPEG algorithm.

Good news: When sharing via iMessage, email, or AirDrop to non-Apple devices, iOS automatically converts to JPG. Problems arise when transferring directly via USB or cloud sync.

Why can't I open HEIC files on Windows?

Windows 10 and 11 don't include HEIC support by default. Microsoft charges licensing fees for HEVC, so they make it optional.

To enable HEIC on Windows:

  1. Install HEIF Image Extensions (free)
  2. Install HEVC Video Extensions ($0.99) or the free device manufacturer version

Alternative: Convert to JPG using our tool—no software installation required, works instantly in any browser.

How do I stop my iPhone saving photos as HEIC?

Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible

This makes your iPhone save photos as JPG and videos as H.264 instead of HEIC/HEVC.

Trade-off: Your photos will use ~2× more storage. A 64GB iPhone storing 20,000 photos in HEIC would only fit ~10,000 in JPG.

Better alternative: Keep "High Efficiency" enabled and convert individual photos when needed. iOS also has a built-in setting: Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic which converts to JPG during transfers.

Answers at a Glance

Quick answers to common questions.