HEIC to JPG
HEIC to JPG: open iPhone photos anywhere
The iPhone saves photos as HEIC. On Apple devices you never notice – but Windows PCs, job portals, online shops and many forms can’t handle it. Here is how to convert HEIC files to JPG quickly, and how to avoid the problem altogether.
Start right away: drop your HEIC photos into the Image Workshop – they are saved as JPG and can be resized at the same time. Free and without upload.
Convert HEIC to JPGThe short version
- Drop the HEIC photos into the Image Workshop – many at once is fine.
- “JPG” is preselected under “Format & compression”. Set the quality to 85–90.
- Optionally resize under “Size”, e.g. to 1600 px for email.
- Download as JPG – several photos come as a ZIP.
What is HEIC – and why does it cause trouble?
HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container, a flavor of the HEIF format. Apple has used it as the default for camera photos since iOS 11 (2017). The upside: at the same quality, a HEIC photo is roughly half the size of a JPG, and it can store more color depth.
The catch is compatibility. The image data is compressed with the HEVC (H.265) video codec, which requires licensing. That’s why many programs don’t support HEIC, or only with add-ons:
| Where | Opens HEIC? |
|---|---|
| iPhone, iPad, Mac | Yes, without restrictions |
| Windows 10/11 | Only with the “HEIF Image Extensions” and “HEVC Video Extensions” from the Microsoft Store |
| Android | Most newer devices yes, older ones often not |
| Browsers | Safari yes; Chrome, Edge and Firefox usually not |
| Upload forms, shops, government portals | Almost always only JPG, PNG or PDF |
JPG, on the other hand, really works everywhere – so converting is usually the fastest way out.
Step by step
- Get the photos onto your computer. Via AirDrop, USB cable, iCloud Photos or email. If the files arrive with the extension
.heic, carry on. - Load them. Drag the files into the Image Workshop. Safari reads them directly; in Chrome, Edge and Firefox the page loads a HEIC decoder once, which also runs in your browser. With many photos this takes a few seconds per image.
- Check the format. “Save as” shows “JPG”. “Same as original” also turns HEIC into JPG automatically.
- Choose the quality. 85 to 90 is a good value. Lower values make the JPG smaller, but fine detail such as skin or sky gradients suffers.
- Download. One photo as JPG, several as a ZIP.
Why is the JPG bigger than the HEIC? Because JPG compresses less efficiently. A 2 MB HEIC easily becomes a 3 to 4 MB JPG at quality 90. If the file needs to be small, also reduce the pixel dimensions under “Size”.
A whole folder of iPhone photos as JPG – in one go, no app and no upload.
Make the iPhone save JPG
If you’d rather not have HEIC at all, change the iPhone settings:
- New photos as JPG: Settings → Camera → Formats → “Most Compatible”. From then on the camera saves JPG (and videos as H.264). Photos take roughly twice the storage.
- Automatically when transferring: Settings → Photos → “Transfer to Mac or PC” → “Automatic”. When you copy photos to a Windows PC by cable, the iPhone converts them to JPG itself.
- When sharing: Many apps and Mail receive a JPG automatically. Between Apple devices via AirDrop or the Files app, the photo stays HEIC.
Quality, metadata and Live Photos
- Quality: HEIC and JPG are both lossy. At quality 85 to 90 the conversion costs no visible quality.
- Orientation: Photos taken in portrait stay in portrait.
- Metadata: When saving, the Image Workshop removes all metadata – capture date, camera model and GPS location. That’s an advantage for sharing. If you need the capture date for sorting in a photo library, use the Mac export (see below), which keeps metadata.
- Live Photos: The still image is converted. The short video part is a separate
.movfile and stays untouched. - Colors: iPhones shoot in the wide Display P3 color space. The JPG is saved in sRGB, the standard for web and print, so very saturated reds and greens may look marginally less intense.
Alternatives: Mac, Windows, command line
Mac: Preview or Photos
Open all HEIC files in Preview, select them and choose “File” → “Export Selected Images”, then pick JPEG. In the Photos app: “File” → “Export” → “Export Photos”.
Windows: Photos app
With the HEIF and HEVC extensions installed, you can open a HEIC in the Photos app and use “Save as” to store it as JPG – one image at a time.
On the command line, the libheif tools or ImageMagick (with HEIC support) do the job:
heif-convert -q 90 IMG_1234.HEIC IMG_1234.jpg
magick mogrify -format jpg -quality 90 *.HEICConvert HEIC to JPG now
Save iPhone photos as JPG, PNG or WebP – many at once, resized if you like and without location data. Free, right in your browser, no upload.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert HEIC to JPG?
Drop the HEIC files into the Image Workshop, choose JPG as the format and download. It works in every current browser, for many photos at once.
Why can’t Windows open HEIC?
HEIC uses the HEVC codec, which requires licensing. Windows doesn’t include it; you need the “HEIF Image Extensions” and “HEVC Video Extensions” from the Microsoft Store.
Do I lose quality when converting?
At a JPG quality of 85 to 90 there is no visible difference. The JPG file will be bigger than the HEIC, though, because JPG compresses less efficiently.
How do I switch the iPhone to JPG?
Go to Settings → Camera → Formats and choose “Most Compatible”. New photos are then saved as JPG.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser. The HEIC decoder is only downloaded and works locally.
Is the GPS location kept in the JPG?
No. The Image Workshop removes all metadata when saving, including the location. Photos containing a location are flagged beforehand.
Sources
- High Efficiency Image File Format, Wikipedia – how HEIF/HEIC works and operating system support.
- libheif – open-source HEIF/HEIC decoder that the in-browser decoder builds on.
- heic2any – the library the Image Workshop uses to read HEIC in Chrome, Edge and Firefox.