About HEIC Files
HEIC Image
HEIC is the default photo format on Apple devices since iOS 11. It offers roughly 50% better compression than JPEG at similar quality but has limited support outside the Apple ecosystem.
Family
Raster & Vector Images
Extension
.heic
MIME Type
image/heic, image/heif
Can Use As
HOW HEIC
CAME TO BE.
HEIC — High Efficiency Image Container — is Apple's filename for HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format), a 2015 specification from the same MPEG group that gave us HEVC video. When Apple shipped iOS 11 in 2017, iPhones defaulted to HEIC for new photos, cutting photo library sizes roughly in half overnight.
Technically HEIC is a container: it wraps HEVC-compressed image frames along with depth maps, live-photo video, burst bursts, and auxiliary data. A single HEIC file can hold a still image, its thumbnail, a short 3-second video (Live Photo), depth information for portrait mode, and EXIF metadata — all with roughly half the file size of the equivalent JPEG.
CURIOSITIES &
TRIVIA.
One HEIC file can contain a still photo, depth map, and 3-second Live Photo video together.
HEIC uses the same codec (HEVC/H.265) that Blu-ray 4K discs use for video.
Apple iPhones shoot HEIC by default but silently transcode to JPEG when you share to a non-Apple device.
HEIC supports 10-bit color depth — useful for HDR photography.
Royalties on HEVC patents caused Android, Windows, and Linux to delay HEIC support for years.
STRENGTHS &
LIMITATIONS.
Strengths
- Roughly 50% smaller than JPEG at equivalent visual quality.
- 10- and 12-bit color depth supports HDR photography.
- Container format holds depth, Live Photo, bursts, and thumbnails in one file.
- Supports transparency and multi-image sequences.
- Built into iOS, macOS, and most modern Samsung and Google flagships.
Limitations
- Patent-encumbered (HEVC) — Windows users must buy a $0.99 codec pack from the Microsoft Store.
- Not supported by most web browsers or older image editors.
- Sharing to non-Apple platforms usually auto-converts to JPEG, losing metadata.
- Hardware decoding required for smooth performance; software decoding is CPU-heavy.
Typical Sizes & Weights
iPhone photo (12 MP)
1.5–3 MB (half of JPEG)
Live Photo with 3s video
3–6 MB
Portrait mode with depth map
2–4 MB
Technical Specifications
- MIME type
- image/heic
- Compression
- HEVC (H.265) intra-frame
- Color depth
- 8, 10, or 12 bits per channel
- Container
- HEIF (ISO/IEC 23008-12)
- Transparency
- Supported
- Max dimensions
- 8,192 × 4,320 (practical)
CONVERT FROM
HEIC
Common Use Cases
iPhone and iPad photos, Apple ecosystem image storage.
Related Formats
Popular comparisons
HEIC vs JPG
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
HEIC vs PNG
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
HEIC vs WEBP
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
HEIC vs GIF
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
HEIC vs TIFF
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
HEIC vs PDF
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
Popular HEIC conversions
The most-requested destinations when starting from HEIC.
Frequently Asked Questions about HEIC
Frequently Asked Questions
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the default photo format on iPhones since iOS 11, based on the HEVC video codec. It offers roughly 50% smaller files than JPEG while maintaining superior image quality and supporting depth maps and Live Photos.
HEIC files open natively on Apple devices, Windows 10/11 (with the HEIF extension from the Microsoft Store), and modern versions of GIMP and Photoshop. Google Photos also supports HEIC viewing and conversion.
HEIC is superior in quality and file size but has limited support on non-Apple platforms. Use HEIC on Apple devices for storage efficiency. Convert to JPG when sharing with Windows users, uploading to websites, or printing.