What is a HEIC file?
HEIC is the photo format iPhones and iPads have used by default since iOS 11 in 2017. It is Apple's name for the High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF), an MPEG standard, with pictures compressed by HEVC (H.265), the same codec used for 4K video.
The appeal is size: a HEIC photo takes roughly half the space of a JPG that looks the same, so your phone holds about twice as many pictures. A HEIC file can also store depth maps, several images and wider colour. The catch is compatibility. Windows needs extra extensions to show it, Chrome and Firefox cannot display it, and many upload forms (job sites, visa portals, banks) only accept JPG or PNG.
HEIC at a glance
| Full name | High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) with HEVC compression |
|---|---|
| File extensions | .heic, .heif |
| Created by | MPEG (ISO/IEC 23008-12); Apple made it the iPhone default |
| Introduced | 2015 (iPhone default since iOS 11, 2017) |
| Compression | Lossy (HEVC / H.265), about half the size of a similar JPG |
| Transparency | Supported, rarely used by cameras |
| Animation | Image sequences supported; Live Photos store their video separately |
| Typical size | About 1–2.5 MB for a 12-megapixel iPhone photo |
| Opens on | iPhone, iPad, Mac and Safari; Windows needs an extension; most websites and Chrome reject it |
| Best for | Storing phone photos in less space |
How to open a HEIC file
On a Mac or iPhone, HEIC opens in Photos and Preview. On Windows 10 or 11, install the HEIF and HEVC extensions from the Microsoft Store, or simply convert the file: HEIC to JPG works for every upload form. To stop new photos being saved as HEIC, go to Settings > Camera > Formats on the iPhone and choose Most Compatible.