File Format Guide

What is a HEIC file?

HEIC is the format your iPhone photos are stored in. It is roughly half the size of the equivalent JPEG at the same quality — and it is the single most common reason people find themselves looking for a file converter.

HEIC at a glance

What is a HEIC file?: Apple's proprietary version of the HEIF (High Efficiency Image File) format. It uses advanced video compression algorithms to store photos at high quality taking up half the space of a standard JPG.
How to open a HEIC file?: Natively on Apple devices (iOS 11+, macOS High Sierra+). On Windows, it requires installing a specific HEVC extension from the Microsoft Store.
Typical use of a HEIC file:: The default photo format for modern iPhones and iPads.
Origin of the HEIC file:: Based on the HEVC (H.265) video standard developed by the MPEG group, adopted by Apple in 2017.
Modern alternatives for HEIC:: For universal web sharing, HEIC files are almost always converted to JPG or WebP.

HEIC specifications

Full name	High Efficiency Image Container (HEIF using HEVC coding)
File extensions	.heic, .heif
MIME type	image/heic, image/heif
Compression	Lossy, using HEVC (H.265) intra-frame coding; lossless possible
Transparency	Supported
Multiple images	Yes — bursts, Live Photos, depth maps, edit history in one file
Colour depth	10 bits per channel, with wide colour gamut
Introduced	2015 (HEIF standard); adopted by Apple in iOS 11, 2017
Browser support	Safari 17+ only; not supported by Chrome or Firefox

Why Apple switched

HEIC applies the HEVC video codec to a single frame, and as with AVIF the payoff is that video compression research has run far ahead of still-image research. An iPhone photo saved as HEIC is typically around half the size of the same photo as JPEG with no visible difference — which, multiplied across a 60,000-photo library, is the difference between needing a storage upgrade and not.

It also stores 10 bits per channel rather than JPEG's 8, which preserves the highlight and shadow detail in the HDR capture that modern phone cameras produce by default. Saving that to JPEG visibly clips it.

A container, not just a picture

The C in HEIC stands for container, and that is the important part. A single HEIC can hold the main image plus a burst sequence, the short video that makes up a Live Photo, a depth map for portrait-mode background blur, an alpha mask, thumbnails, and a record of non-destructive edits that can still be undone.

This is why converting HEIC to JPG is lossy in a second sense beyond compression: the JPEG gets the main image and nothing else. The depth data, the Live Photo motion, and the reversible edit history are simply dropped. If any of that matters, keep the original alongside the converted copy.

Why nothing else will open it

HEVC is encumbered by a notoriously tangled patent situation, with multiple licensing pools claiming royalties. That has kept HEIC support out of Chrome and Firefox entirely, and made it a paid add-on on Windows for years. Android has broad support, many websites reject HEIC uploads outright, and a great deal of desktop software has never added it.

The result is a format that works flawlessly inside Apple's ecosystem and causes friction everywhere else — hence the constant need to convert before sending photos to anyone.

Converting HEIC files

HEIC to JPG is the standard fix and is what you want for sharing, uploading, and printing. Use a high quality setting, since you are re-encoding data that has already been through one lossy codec. Convert to PNG instead if you plan to edit the image, to avoid stacking a second generation of loss.

You can also stop the problem at the source: on iOS, Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible switches the camera to JPEG. You give up the space saving and the 10-bit colour, but photos then work everywhere without a conversion step.

Convert HEIC files in your browser

Zolvo's image converter runs entirely on your own machine — your files are never uploaded to a server. Drop a HEIC file in and pick an output format, or jump straight to a common one:

HEIC → JPG HEIC → PNG HEIC → WebP

HEIC — frequently asked questions

How do I open a HEIC file on Windows?

Windows 11 includes HEIF support, though the HEVC codec needed to decode it has historically been a paid Store add-on. The simplest route is to convert the file to JPG or PNG, which works regardless of what codecs are installed.

Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?

Slightly. You are re-encoding data that has already been compressed once, so use a high quality setting to keep the loss minimal. You also lose the 10-bit colour depth and any depth map, Live Photo motion, or reversible edits stored in the original file.

How do I stop my iPhone saving photos as HEIC?

Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. The camera then captures JPEG instead. Photos will take roughly twice the storage and lose the 10-bit colour range, but they will open anywhere without conversion.

What is the difference between HEIC and HEIF?

HEIF is the container standard; HEIC is the name used when the images inside are encoded with HEVC, which is what Apple does. In everyday use the terms are interchangeable, and the .heic and .heif extensions usually hold the same kind of file.

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