HEIC File Format (.heic)

An HEIC file contains one or more images saved in the High Efficiency Image Format, the container Apple has used for iPhone and iPad photos since iOS 11 because it stores the same picture in roughly half the space of a JPEG.

.heicImage Files

HEIC at a glance#

Full name	High Efficiency Image Format
File extension	.heic
Category	Image Files
Developer	MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)
First released	2015
MIME types	image/heicimage/heifimage/heic-sequence
Other extensions	.heif.hif
Compression	Lossy or lossless, depending on how the file was written
Specification	ISO/IEC 23008-12 (HEIF)
FileFlip support	FileFlip reads this format but does not write it

What a .heic file can hold#

These are the things a HEIC file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.

Transparency (alpha channel)	Yes
Animation	Yes
Lossless compression	Yes
Embedded metadata	Yes
Colour profiles	Yes
High dynamic range	Yes
Multiple images or pages	Yes

Strengths and limitations of HEIC#

What HEIC does well

Roughly half the file size of a JPEG at visually equivalent quality
16-bit colour depth, so skies and gradients hold up without banding
Stores bursts, Live Photos and depth maps as multiple images in one file
Keeps an alpha channel, which JPEG cannot

Where HEIC falls short

Windows needs a paid codec from the Microsoft Store to show HEIC thumbnails
Most websites and content management systems reject the format on upload
Older photo editors and printers do not read it at all
Patent licensing on HEVC is why browser support arrived so slowly

Keep photos as HEIC while they stay on Apple devices, where the space saving is free and nothing loses quality.

Convert HEIC to JPG when a file has to leave the Apple ecosystem, which in practice means uploading it anywhere, emailing it to someone on Windows, or printing it.

How to open a .heic file#

A .heic file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts HEIC into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.

Platform	Programs that open it
Windows	Photos (with HEIF Image Extensions), Adobe Photoshop, IrfanView, XnView MP
macOS	Photos, Preview, Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo
Linux	GIMP, gThumb, ImageMagick, libheif tools
iOS	Photos, Files, Adobe Lightroom
Android	Google Photos, Snapseed
Web	FileFlip

HEIC questions people ask#

Why are my iPhone photos HEIC instead of JPG?

iPhones save photos as HEIC by default because the format stores the same image in about half the space of a JPEG. Changing Settings, Camera, Formats to Most Compatible switches new photos to JPEG, though it does not convert the pictures already in your library.

Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?

Converting HEIC to JPG re-encodes the image with a different lossy codec, so a small amount of detail is discarded. At high JPEG quality the difference is not visible at normal viewing sizes, but the resulting file is usually larger than the HEIC it came from, and 16-bit colour is reduced to 8-bit.

Can Windows open HEIC files?

Windows 11 shows HEIC files only after the HEIF Image Extensions are installed from the Microsoft Store, and the HEVC Video Extensions they depend on are a paid download. Converting to JPG avoids the codec entirely and works on any version of Windows.

What happens to a Live Photo when I convert HEIC to JPG?

A Live Photo stores a still image and a short video as separate items. Converting the HEIC keeps the still frame and discards the motion, because JPEG holds exactly one image and has nowhere to put the video.

Is HEIC the same as HEIF?

HEIF is the container format and HEIC is the common case of that container holding HEVC-encoded images. Apple uses the .heic extension for photos, while .heif appears when the container holds images encoded another way.

Converting HEIC files#

FileFlip does not write .heic files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.

Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.