Why are my iPhone photos HEIC, and how do I get JPG instead?

What HEIC is

HEIC is a photo saved in the High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF), using the HEVC video codec to compress the picture. Apple’s own description: HEIF and HEVC “offer better compression than JPEG and H.264”, which is why a HEIC photo is typically about half the size of a JPEG of the same quality. That’s the whole reason: more photos on the phone and in iCloud.

Source: Apple, Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices, checked 16 Sep 2026.

Which iPhones do it

According to the same Apple page, devices that capture in HEIF/HEVC by default when running iOS 11 or later include the iPhone 7 or later, the iPad (6th generation) or later, iPad Air (3rd generation) or later, iPad mini (5th generation) or later, and the 10.5-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation) or later. In practice: the iPhone 7 (2016) and every model after it.

Why Windows can’t open them

Windows doesn’t include the HEIF container support or the HEVC decoder by default. Both exist as Microsoft Store extensions, and even with them installed, “HEIC won’t open” threads are common. None of that is needed to convert the files with a tool that carries its own decoder, which is what Simple Image Converter does.

Making the phone shoot JPEG

Apple’s page gives the setting: “Open Settings, then tap Camera. Tap Formats, then tap Most Compatible.” From then on the phone saves JPEG (and H.264 video). The cost is bigger files; you can switch back to High Efficiency any time. Existing photos aren’t changed.

Apple also notes that when you share by AirDrop, Messages or email, “the media might automatically be shared in a more compatible format”, and if you want the phone to keep HEIC when importing over USB, there is a Keep Originals setting in Photos. Whether a USB import to Windows gives you HEIC or JPEG depends on that setting; check it before assuming which you’ll get.

Converting the ones you already have

For the photos already sitting on your PC, Simple Image Converter opens HEIC without any Microsoft extension, applies the rotation flag so portrait shots are upright, strips the GPS location by default, and does whole folders in one pass on Windows or Linux. Our timed test converted 12 large HEICs to JPG in about a second in parallel using the decoder the app bundles; the numbers and method are on the bulk conversion page.

Simple Image Converter

One thing it can’t do: save to HEIC. It opens HEIC and saves JPG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, BMP, ICO or PDF.

HEIC to JPG: is quality lost?

Yes, a little, and it’s unavoidable: HEIC is already a lossy format, and JPG re-compresses the decoded picture. At JPG quality 90 the difference isn’t visible at normal viewing sizes. The size trade is real, though: in our test a 4.0 MB HEIC (encoded at quality 80, so heavier than an iPhone’s) became a 3.3 MB JPG at quality 90, a 2.3 MB JPG at quality 80, and a 15 MB PNG (lossless, but huge). For photos, JPG at 85–90 is the sensible target, and the app’s iPhone preset uses 90. One-time purchase on Steam, no daily caps.