Learn how to convert HEIC files from your iPhone to JPEG or WebP format. Understand why Apple uses HEIC, the best conversion methods, and how to optimize photos for web use.
If you've ever tried to upload an iPhone photo to a website and gotten an error, or sent a picture to someone who couldn't open it, you've encountered the HEIC problem. Apple's default image format saves space on your phone but creates headaches when you need to share photos outside the Apple ecosystem. Here's how to convert HEIC files to formats that work everywhere.
HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. Apple adopted it as the default photo format starting with iOS 11 in 2017. The format uses advanced compression that produces files roughly 40-50% smaller than equivalent JPEGs while maintaining the same visual quality.
For Apple, the benefits are clear. Smaller photos mean users can store more pictures on their devices without running out of space. iCloud storage fills up more slowly. Photo libraries sync faster. The tradeoff is compatibility - HEIC doesn't work everywhere that JPEG does.
The format is technically part of a broader standard called HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format), developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group. Apple didn't invent it, but they were the first major company to adopt it at scale. This gave iPhone users smaller files but left everyone else scrambling to support the format.
HEIC works seamlessly within Apple's ecosystem. iPhones, iPads, and Macs handle these files without any issues. Photos sync across devices, editing works normally, and everything feels transparent.
The problems start when files leave that ecosystem. Older Windows computers can't open HEIC files without additional software. Many websites reject HEIC uploads. Email clients sometimes strip HEIC attachments or display them as broken files. Social media platforms handle HEIC inconsistently - some convert automatically, others reject the upload entirely.
Even within professional workflows, HEIC creates friction. Graphic design software has uneven support. Content management systems often don't recognize the format. Automated image processing pipelines built for JPEG and PNG choke on HEIC files.
The format also stores images differently than JPEG. Where JPEG uses 8 bits per color channel, HEIC can store 10-bit color depth. This means some HEIC photos contain color information that gets lost during conversion to JPEG. For most web use this doesn't matter, but photographers working with high dynamic range images should be aware of the limitation.
Apple provides built-in conversion for sharing photos. When you share a HEIC image to a non-Apple destination, iOS can automatically convert it to JPEG. This setting lives in Settings > Photos > Transfer to Mac or PC, where you can choose "Automatic" to enable conversion during transfers.
For AirDrop to other Apple devices, photos stay in HEIC format. When sharing via email, Messages, or third-party apps, iOS usually converts to JPEG automatically. However, this automatic conversion doesn't always work reliably, and you have limited control over the output quality.
You can also change your camera settings to capture photos as JPEG instead of HEIC. Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and select "Most Compatible" instead of "High Efficiency." This captures all future photos as JPEG, but you lose the storage space benefits of HEIC and can't retroactively convert existing photos.
Neither of these options works well for batch conversion or gives you control over output format and quality settings.
For converting HEIC files with full control over the output, browser-based tools offer the most flexibility. Tools like Shrink.zip can convert HEIC files to JPEG or WebP directly in your browser, with adjustable quality settings and batch processing support.
The process is straightforward:
Browser-based conversion has several advantages over desktop software. There's nothing to install, it works on any operating system, and the processing happens locally on your device. Your photos never get uploaded to external servers, which matters for personal or sensitive images.
The main limitation is processing power. Your computer or phone does all the work, so converting large batches of high-resolution photos takes longer than server-based tools. For most users converting a handful of photos at a time, this isn't noticeable.
When converting HEIC files, you have two practical output format choices: JPEG and WebP.
JPEG offers universal compatibility. Every device, browser, application, and website supports JPEG. If you're unsure where your photos will end up or need to share with people using older technology, JPEG is the safe choice. The format has been around since 1992, and support is effectively universal.
WebP produces smaller files at equivalent quality - typically 25-35% smaller than JPEG. All modern browsers support WebP, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. For web publishing where file size affects page load times, WebP is the better technical choice. The format also supports transparency, which JPEG cannot do.
For most web use cases, WebP makes more sense. The file size savings improve page performance, and browser support is now universal enough that compatibility concerns have largely disappeared. Reserve JPEG for situations where you need guaranteed compatibility with older software or devices.
HEIC files from iPhones are typically high quality originals. When converting for web use, you don't need to preserve every pixel of quality - aggressive compression usually produces acceptable results while dramatically reducing file sizes.
For hero images and featured photos: Start at 80-85% quality. These prominent images benefit from higher quality, but you can usually go lower than you'd expect without visible degradation. Test the output and reduce quality until you notice problems, then back off slightly.
For content images and thumbnails: 70-80% quality works well. At smaller display sizes, compression artifacts become less visible, so you can be more aggressive with compression.
For product photos and detailed images: Higher quality (85-90%) preserves the detail customers need to evaluate products. Don't over-compress images where quality directly affects user decisions.
When converting to WebP, these quality numbers produce slightly better visual results than the equivalent JPEG quality setting. A WebP at 75% quality typically looks as good as a JPEG at 80-85%.
If you have hundreds or thousands of HEIC photos that need conversion, one-at-a-time processing becomes impractical. Batch conversion tools let you process entire folders at once.
Browser-based tools like Shrink.zip support multiple file selection and batch downloads. Drop all your HEIC files at once, configure your settings, and download everything as a ZIP archive. This works well for batches of up to a few hundred photos, limited mainly by your device's memory.
For larger libraries, you might need to process photos in chunks. Group photos by date or event, convert each batch separately, and organize the output as you go. This prevents browser memory issues and makes quality checking manageable.
Keep your original HEIC files after conversion. Storage is cheap, and you might want to re-convert with different settings later. Create a clear folder structure that separates originals from converted versions to avoid confusion.
HEIC files contain extensive metadata: capture date, camera settings, GPS location, and more. When converting to JPEG or WebP, this metadata can be preserved or stripped depending on your needs.
Preserve metadata when: You're archiving photos and want to maintain the full record, or you're using photos in applications that rely on capture date for organization.
Strip metadata when: Publishing photos online where you don't want location data visible, reducing file sizes for web use, or protecting privacy in shared images.
Most conversion tools offer a metadata option. For web publishing, stripping metadata is usually the right choice - it reduces file sizes and removes potentially sensitive location information. For personal archives, keeping metadata helps with organization and provides context about when and where photos were taken.
Colors look different after conversion. HEIC supports wider color gamuts than JPEG. Photos captured with iPhone's wide color camera might look slightly different after conversion to JPEG, which uses the smaller sRGB color space. For most photos, this difference is imperceptible. For images with saturated colors or high dynamic range content, the shift might be noticeable.
Files are larger after conversion. This happens occasionally with simple images that HEIC compressed particularly efficiently. If your converted JPEG or WebP is larger than the original HEIC, try reducing the quality setting. The goal is smaller file sizes for web use, not exact quality matching.
Conversion fails or produces corrupted output. Some HEIC variants use features that not all converters support. Try a different conversion tool if you encounter consistent failures with specific files. Browser-based tools using modern WebAssembly libraries handle most HEIC variants reliably.
Live Photos lose their video component. HEIC Live Photos contain both a still image and a short video clip. Standard conversion extracts only the still image. If you need the video component, you'll need specialized tools that handle Live Photo export.
Photographers working with iPhone captures face a choice: shoot in HEIC for storage efficiency or JPEG for compatibility. There's no universally correct answer, but here are practical considerations.
For casual shooting where photos go straight to social media or messaging, HEIC's automatic conversion usually handles everything. The storage savings on device are worth the minor compatibility friction.
For professional work where photos enter editing pipelines, shooting in JPEG ("Most Compatible" mode) often makes more sense. This eliminates conversion steps and ensures files work with all software. The larger file sizes are manageable for smaller photo batches typical of professional work.
For archival purposes, keep original HEIC files alongside any converted versions. HEIC's superior compression makes it efficient for long-term storage, and you can always convert again if better tools or formats emerge later.
HEIC represents part of a broader trend toward more efficient image formats. AVIF, based on the AV1 video codec, offers even better compression than HEIC. WebP continues gaining adoption as a web-native format. JPEG XL promised improvements but has seen limited browser adoption.
For iPhone users, this format proliferation means continued conversion needs. Apple shows no signs of abandoning HEIC - the storage benefits are too significant. Other platforms will continue improving HEIC support, but gaps will persist.
The practical approach is accepting that format conversion is part of digital photography workflows. Efficient tools make conversion painless, and the few seconds spent converting photos is a reasonable tradeoff for the storage savings HEIC provides on your devices.
HEIC isn't going away, and fighting against it by switching your iPhone to JPEG capture mode gives up real benefits. Instead, build conversion into your workflow where needed.
For sharing individual photos, rely on iOS's automatic conversion for most situations. It handles casual sharing without any extra steps.
For web publishing and professional use, use browser-based conversion tools like Shrink.zip that give you control over output format, quality, and metadata. The combination of HEIC on-device storage with WebP for web publishing gives you the best of both worlds: efficient storage and fast-loading web images.
For batch processing and archives, establish a consistent conversion workflow. Keep originals, convert with appropriate quality settings for your use case, and organize outputs clearly.
The HEIC format exists because storage efficiency matters on mobile devices. The conversion friction is a temporary inconvenience that good tools can minimize. Your iPhone photos can work everywhere - they just need a format change along the way.