HEIC Files, Explained
What a HEIC file is, why iPhones save photos as HEIC, how to open HEIC on Windows, and how to convert HEIC to JPG while keeping quality and dropping GPS data.
By Udit Agarwal · Updated October 18, 2026
A HEIC file is a photo stored in the High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF), with the picture compressed by HEVC, the same codec many phones use to record video. Apple made it the default format for iPhone and iPad photos with iOS 11 in 2017, because it fits a photo into roughly half the space of a JPG of similar quality. The drawback is compatibility: plenty of Windows PCs, websites and upload forms still cannot open it, which is usually the moment people go looking for a converter.
HEIF is a container format, standardized by MPEG as ISO/IEC 23008-12. A container holds one or more images plus information about them, and the images inside can be compressed in different ways. When they are compressed with HEVC (also called H.265), the file is known as HEIC and normally ends in .heic. The generic extension .heif exists too, and in everyday use the two names mean the same thing.
Besides the photo itself, a HEIC file can carry a thumbnail for quick previews, extra images such as a burst or the depth map behind portrait effects, transparency, 10-bit colour, and the usual EXIF metadata: the date and time, the camera and lens settings and, if location was switched on, the GPS position.
The reason is storage. JPG dates from the early 1990s (the JPEG standard is ISO/IEC 10918-1), while HEVC was finalized in 2013 and squeezes the same picture into far fewer bytes. A HEIC photo is typically about half the size of a JPG that looks the same.
Some numbers make the point. A 12-megapixel photo of 4032 × 3024 pixels holds about 12.2 million pixels. Stored raw at 3 bytes per pixel it would take 36.6 MB, which is why every camera compresses. If a phone's JPGs average 4 MB, a library of 1,000 photos fills about 4 GB as JPG and about 2 GB as HEIC.
On an iPhone the setting is High Efficiency under Settings > Camera > Formats, and it is the default. The same setting records video in HEVC.
HEVC is covered by patents licensed through several patent pools, which has made many software makers reluctant to build it in. The result is patchy support:
| Device | What works |
|---|---|
| Windows 10 or 11 | Install HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store, then use Photos. Other programs may still refuse the file. |
| Mac | Preview and Photos open it. In Preview, File > Export saves a JPEG or PNG copy. |
| iPhone and iPad | Photos opens it. |
| Android | Recent versions show it in the gallery; other apps vary. |
| Any browser | Safari displays it. Elsewhere, convert it to JPG first. |
When the file has to go somewhere else (an email to a Windows user, a job portal, a print shop), converting is the dependable option, because a JPG opens practically everywhere.
Two settings change what the iPhone produces:
Many people keep High Efficiency for the storage savings and convert only the photos they need to send.
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Size for a photo | Opens in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Lossy | No | The baseline | Practically everything |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | Several times a JPG | Practically everything |
| WebP | Lossy or lossless | Yes | Smaller than a JPG | Current browsers and most apps; some older programs do not |
Google, which created WebP, reports that lossy WebP files are 25 to 34 percent smaller than comparable JPGs. JPG is still the safest choice for uploads and email. PNG makes sense only when nothing may be lost, for instance a photo you will keep editing.
Expect the JPG to be bigger than the HEIC. Because HEIC compresses about twice as well, a full-size JPG at a high quality setting often comes out larger than the file it came from. Two settings bring it down. A slightly lower quality, around 85, is hard to tell from the original at normal viewing size. A size limit saves more: capping a 4032 × 3024 photo at 2048 pixels on the long side gives 2048 × 1536, about 26 percent of the original pixels. The file shrinks a lot, though usually by less than the pixel count suggests, since the smaller picture packs the same scene into fewer pixels. A cap of 1080 pixels gives 1080 × 810, about 7 percent of the pixels, which is plenty for a message or a web page.
An iPhone photo's metadata records when it was taken, the camera and lens settings and, if Location Services is on for the Camera app, the exact GPS position. Converters handle this differently: some copy the metadata into the JPG, so the location travels with the copy, and others write the new file from the pixels alone.
Dropping the metadata has two effects worth knowing. The location and camera details are gone, which is usually what you want before posting a photo publicly. The capture date goes too, so a photo library that sorts by date taken may file the converted copies under the day you made them. A careful converter applies the photo's rotation to the pixels before dropping the metadata, so portraits stay upright.
If you share straight from an iPhone, the share sheet's Options menu has a Location switch that removes the position from the copy you send. To check a converted file, open it in the EXIF Viewer & Remover, which lists a JPG's metadata and flags any GPS coordinates.
The HEIC to JPG Converter turns HEIC and HEIF photos into JPG, PNG or WebP. Drop the files in, choose them, or paste them with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. You set the format, a quality from 40 to 100 for JPG and WebP (90 by default), and an optional maximum size of 4096, 2048 or 1080 pixels on the long side. A smaller photo is never enlarged, so the 4096 setting leaves a 12-megapixel iPhone photo at its full 4032 × 3024. When you save as JPG, any transparent area is filled with a background colour you pick, white by default. WebP appears only in browsers that can save it, which leaves out Safari.
Photos are converted one at a time, so only one decoded photo is held in memory, even in a long batch. Up to 100 can sit in the list, each up to 256 MB and 100 megapixels. A file that holds several pictures, such as a burst, gives its main picture only, and a file that is really a JPG or PNG with a .heic name is converted anyway and labelled as such. Every card shows a preview, the pixel size and the change in file size, and you can download photos one by one or all together as a ZIP, with the names kept: IMG_0001.HEIC becomes IMG_0001.jpg.
Each photo is decoded and saved again in your browser on your own device, and nothing is uploaded. The new files carry no EXIF data, so no GPS location and no capture date. The converted copies exist only in the open tab, so download them before you close it.
If a form then sets a size limit, Compress Image to Size brings the JPG under it, and compressing a photo to an exact size explains why some limits need fewer pixels. Image to PDF expects JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF or BMP, so convert first, and see why PDFs get big to keep the result small.
What is the difference between HEIC and HEIF? HEIF is the container format defined in ISO/IEC 23008-12. HEIC is a HEIF file whose images are compressed with HEVC, which is what iPhones produce. Most software treats the two extensions the same way.
Is HEIC better quality than JPG? At the same file size, usually yes, because HEVC compresses more efficiently. Phones spend that advantage on saving space, so a HEIC photo looks about as good as a JPG roughly twice its size.
How do I open a HEIC file on Windows? Install HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store, and the Photos app will open it. Other programs and websites may still refuse the file, so convert it to JPG for sharing or uploading.
How do I make my iPhone take JPG photos instead of HEIC? Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos are saved as JPG and take about twice the space. Photos you already took stay HEIC.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality? A little, because JPG is lossy. At quality 90 the difference is very hard to see. If nothing may be lost, convert to PNG, which is lossless but several times larger.
Why is my converted JPG bigger than the HEIC? HEIC compresses about twice as well as JPG, so a full-size JPG at high quality usually comes out larger. Lower the quality to around 85, or set a maximum size such as 2048 pixels.
Does converting remove the location from my photo? It depends on the converter. ArrayKit's HEIC to JPG Converter writes the new file from the pixels only, so the JPG has no GPS position, camera details or capture date. The original HEIC keeps all of it.