What is a HEIC file?

A HEIC file is a photo saved in the High Efficiency Image File Format, which iPhones and iPads have used by default since iOS 11 in 2017. It stores an image compressed with HEVC (also called H.265), the same codec used for 4K video, and produces files roughly half the size of an equivalent JPEG. The format can also do things JPEG cannot: store 16 bits of colour per channel instead of 8, hold transparency, and pack several images into one file — which is how Live Photos and burst shots work.

HEIC, HEIF and HEVC — three names for related things

These get used interchangeably and it causes real confusion, so it is worth separating them. HEIF is the container format, standardised as ISO/IEC 23008-12. It defines how image data and metadata are packaged into a file, but not how the image itself is compressed. HEVC is a video compression codec, standardised separately as H.265. HEIC is what you get when you put HEVC-compressed image data inside a HEIF container — which is the combination Apple chose.

In practice, when someone says "HEIF" they usually mean the same thing as HEIC. You will see both .heic and .heif file extensions, and occasionally .hif from some camera manufacturers. All three are read by the same software.

Why Apple switched away from JPEG

Storage. JPEG dates from 1992, and image compression has improved enormously since. HEVC achieves roughly the same visual quality in about half the bytes, which meant Apple could double the number of photos a given iPhone could hold without changing the hardware or degrading quality.

That decision arrived alongside the iPhone 7 and iOS 11, at a point when phone cameras were producing 12-megapixel images and people were shooting far more of them than before. Cutting photo storage in half was a substantial practical win.

What HEIC can do that JPEG cannot

The size advantage gets most of the attention, but the capability differences matter more for photography. JPEG stores 8 bits per colour channel; HEIC stores up to 16. That extra precision is what allows the highlight and shadow recovery you get when editing a photo in the iOS Photos app without visible banding appearing in skies and gradients.

HEIC also supports an alpha channel, so images can have genuinely transparent regions. And a single HEIC file can contain multiple images, which is how Live Photos store a still frame alongside a short video, how burst shots keep a sequence together, and how Portrait mode keeps a depth map next to the photo so the background blur can be re-edited later.

None of this is representable in a JPEG. When you convert a HEIC to JPEG you get the primary still image and nothing else — the depth map, the extra frames and the additional colour precision are all discarded.

The catch: patents

HEVC is covered by a large number of patents, administered through several licensing pools. Anyone shipping a HEVC decoder generally owes royalties, and that cost is the single biggest reason HEIC support outside Apple has been so uneven. Microsoft has historically charged for the HEVC extension on Windows. Web browsers other than Safari decline to decode HEIC at all — which is why you cannot simply put a HEIC on a website.

This is a large part of why AVIF exists. It offers comparable compression using the royalty-free AV1 codec, and browsers adopted it quickly for exactly that reason.

What to do with your HEIC files

For most people the honest answer is: nothing. Leave them as HEIC on your phone, where they take up half the space and edit better, and convert individual files to JPEG only when you need to send one somewhere that cannot read it.

If you regularly hit compatibility problems and would rather avoid them entirely, you can tell your iPhone to shoot JPEG instead, at the cost of roughly double the storage per photo.

Frequently asked questions

Is HEIC better than JPEG?

Technically, in almost every respect — smaller files, more colour precision, transparency, and the ability to hold several images at once. JPEG wins on exactly one thing, compatibility, and that one thing matters enough that JPEG remains the safer choice for sharing.

What is the difference between HEIC and HEIF?

HEIF is the container format. HEIC is a HEIF file whose image data is compressed with HEVC. In everyday use the terms are used interchangeably, and the same software reads both.

Can I open a HEIC file on Windows?

Windows 11 handles many HEIC files natively, though support varies by application. On Windows 10 you generally need extensions from the Microsoft Store. Converting to JPG avoids the issue entirely.

Do HEIC files lose quality?

HEIC uses lossy compression, so yes, some data is discarded — but at a given file size it retains noticeably more detail than JPEG would. It is the more efficient format, not a lossless one.

Why can I not upload a HEIC to a website?

Browsers other than Safari do not decode HEIC, largely because of HEVC patent licensing. Upload forms therefore usually restrict you to JPG, PNG or WebP.