A HEIC file is a photo saved in the High Efficiency Image Container format, which an iPhone or iPad uses when its camera is set to High Efficiency. It takes less space than a JPG of the same visual quality, but many Windows PCs, websites and web browsers cannot show it. To share one, convert it to JPG.
It is the file people meet when they copy photos from an iPhone to a Windows PC, or try to attach one to an online form. In short:
- What it stands for: High Efficiency Image Container, a kind of HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format).
- Where it comes from: iPhones and iPads, when Settings, Camera, Formats is on High Efficiency.
- What opens it: iPhones, iPads and Macs; Windows once two add-ons from Microsoft are installed; many Android phones. Chrome, Edge and Firefox do not.
- How to share one: convert it to JPG, which opens almost everywhere.
What is a HEIC file? The format iPhones save photos in
Apple's own glossary defines HEIC, the High Efficiency Image Container, as an updated version of HEIF developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG): a container for still images and image sequences that uses HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) compression. In plain words, the box (the container) is HEIF, and the picture inside is squeezed with HEVC, the same compression an iPhone uses for video under High Efficiency.
The HEIC file format rests on an international standard. The Library of Congress format description names HEIF as ISO/IEC 23008-12, first published by ISO in 2017, and says the .heic ending marks a HEIF file holding pictures coded with HEVC. Apple brought it in that same year as the camera format for iOS devices, starting with iOS 11.
HEIC vs HEIF: is there a difference?
HEIF is the family, and HEIC is the member an iPhone makes. Every HEIC file is a HEIF file, but a HEIF file can hold pictures compressed in other ways, and the Library of Congress lists .heif, .heic and .hif (used by Canon cameras) among its endings. For opening and converting a photo, treat .heic and .heif alike: our converters open both.
Why are iPhone photos HEIC?
To save space on the phone. Apple's guide to using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices says HEIF and HEVC compress better than JPEG and H.264, so they use less storage while keeping the same visual quality. Viewing, editing or duplicating them needs iOS 11 or later, or macOS High Sierra or later.
One camera setting decides it. Under Settings, then Camera, then Formats, High Efficiency saves new photos as HEIC, and Most Compatible saves them as JPEG (and new videos as H.264). The setting appears only on iPhones and iPads that can take HEIF photos, and photos you have already taken stay as they are.
What is inside a HEIC file?
A photo, with room for more. The Library of Congress notes that the container supports image sequences and collections as well as single still images, and carries metadata such as Exif and XMP. Exif is where the camera writes the date, its settings and often the place the photo was taken. To see what one of your photos carries, view its EXIF data: HEIC photos open there too.
HEIC vs JPG
HEIC wins on size, JPG wins on where it opens. Apple says HEIF keeps the same visual quality in less storage than JPEG. JPEG is much older: the Library of Congress dates the JPEG standard to 1992, as ITU-T Recommendation T.81, and calls it very widely adopted, from cameras and scanners to a large number of programs.
| HEIC | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ISO/IEC 23008-12, first published in 2017 | ITU-T T.81, from 1992 |
| File size for the same look | Smaller | Larger |
| Opens on | Apple devices; Windows with add-ons; many Android phones | Almost every device, program and website |
| Shows in Chrome, Edge and Firefox | No | Yes |
| Best for | Keeping photos on an iPhone, iPad or Mac | Sharing, uploading, emailing and printing |
Is HEIC better than JPG?
For storing photos, yes: the same look in less space is what Apple offers it for. For sending them, no: the person or the website at the other end may not be able to open a HEIC. A simple rule works for most people: keep the HEIC originals on your phone or in your photo library, and send JPG copies.
A JPG copy has a small cost. JPG is a lossy format (it leaves out fine detail to save space), so a JPG made from a HEIC is compressed a second time. At a high quality setting the difference is very hard to see, but the HEIC is still the better original to keep.
How to open a HEIC file
On Apple devices a HEIC photo simply opens. Elsewhere it depends on the system:
- iPhone and iPad: the Photos app, on iOS 11 or later.
- Mac: Photos or Preview, on macOS High Sierra or later. Preview can also save a copy in another format: its File, then Export command offers JPEG and PNG, among others.
- Windows: the Photos app, once two add-ons from the Microsoft Store are installed (see below).
- Android: Google's list of supported media formats gives HEIF decoding from Android 9.0, but marks it as optional for each device, so it depends on your phone.
- A web browser: Chrome, Edge and Firefox do not show HEIC pictures, according to the browser support tables on Can I use. That is why a website may refuse an iPhone photo, or fail to show a preview of it.
How to open HEIC files on Windows
Windows needs two add-ons from Microsoft. The HEIF Image Extension is free and lets Windows read and write HEIF files, but its own description says the HEVC Video Extensions package must also be installed to view pictures in .heic, .hif or .heif files.
- Install the HEIF Image Extension from the Microsoft Store.
- Install the HEVC Video Extensions, also from Microsoft. It is paid: $0.99 in the US store when we checked on 22 October 2026.
- Open the HEIC file in the Photos app.
Not your computer, or rather not pay for an add-on? Convert the photos to JPG in your browser instead, as the next section shows. The JPGs then open in any Windows program.
Worth knowing
Copying photos from an iPhone to a computer? Apple says photos imported from an attached iPhone into Photos, Image Capture or a PC may be converted to JPEG on the way, and photos you share from the phone may be sent as JPEG too. To keep the HEIC originals instead, turn on Keep Originals under Settings, Apps, Photos.
How to turn HEIC into JPG or PNG
To convert a HEIC to JPG, open our convert HEIC to JPG page on your computer, in Chrome, Edge or Firefox. The photos are read and converted inside your browser, so they are never uploaded. It is free, with no account and no watermark.
- Copy the photos from your iPhone to your computer.
- Press Select images and pick the .heic or .heif files, or drop them on the page. Up to 100 photos go in one run.
- Convert to is already on JPG. Pick a Quality: Smaller, Balanced or Best.
- Press Convert and save. IMG_4021.HEIC comes out as IMG_4021.jpg, and Save all as ZIP saves a whole batch in one file.
Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot read HEIC on their own, so the page loads a HEIC reader of about 1.5 MB the first time you add a photo, and keeps it while the page is open.
To edit a photo, place it in a design or keep an archive copy, convert HEIC to PNG instead. PNG keeps every pixel of the decoded photo and loses nothing more however often you save it, but the files are much bigger than a JPG.
For any other format, the image converter opens HEIC too, and saves it as JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, GIF or TIFF. Whichever you pick, a HEIC is treated the same way:
- One photo in, one picture out: the HEIC's main picture.
- The picture comes out the right way up, even if the phone was held sideways.
- The width and height in pixels stay the same.
- The location, camera and date details are not copied, so a shared JPG does not give away where it was taken. Keep the HEIC if you sort your album by date.
We read every outside source linked in this guide on 22 October 2026.
HEIC file questions
What is a HEIC file?
A photo saved in the High Efficiency Image Container format, a kind of HEIF. iPhones and iPads save photos this way under the High Efficiency camera setting, because it takes less space than JPEG for the same visual quality. The file name ends in .heic.
Why are my iPhone photos HEIC?
Because the camera is set to High Efficiency, which Apple offers to save storage. To take JPEG photos instead, go to Settings, then Camera, then Formats, and choose Most Compatible. Photos already taken stay HEIC.
How do I open HEIC files on Windows?
Install the free HEIF Image Extension and the paid HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store, then open the file in the Photos app. Or, with nothing to install, convert the photos to JPG in your browser.
Is HEIC better than JPG?
For storing photos, yes: it keeps the same visual quality in less space. For sharing, JPG is better, because almost every device, program and website opens it, while many Windows PCs and web browsers cannot show a HEIC.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?
A little, because JPG compresses the photo again. At Balanced or Best the difference is very hard to see. Keep the HEIC as your original, and convert to PNG instead if you need a copy that loses nothing more when you edit it.