High Sierra and iOS version 11 launched HEIF the extension of which is .HEIC. This is a new image file format that was used as a replacement for JPEG. It promises the same (or even better) quality images at a relatively smaller file size.
This can be great for a lot of users who have Apple devices. But what about does who don’t? How do we convert .HEIC files to .JPG which is more compatible with various devices? How to convert .HEIC files to .JPG on Mac? In this guide, we’ll teach you how to do so.
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Part 1. Image Formats and File Saving
Once you update your device to iOS version 11, the Camera application will save files to HEIF format (i.e., .HEIC) automatically upon capturing photos. Most people are unaware of this change. That’s why those who updated to iOS 11 have been automatically capturing HEIF images without knowing it.
This might not be a cause for a big concern. However, you might only notice it when you try to transfer photos to devices incompatible with .HEIC formats. The other device might not be able to decrypt the HEIF file format and show an error.
The great thing about it is High Sierra and macOS 11 both convert HEIF files into JPEG once they are shared. However, this is only possible if you share the HEIF file through Apple’s Share sheet. If you do it through another method, HEIF won’t get converted to JPEG automatically.
So, what if you really want to convert your .HEIC image into JPEG? Maybe you just want to do so for safekeeping. Or maybe, you want to send it to a device that doesn’t support HEIF? You might also need to convert your images to JPEG if you wish to share it through social media sites through a web interface and not through Apple’s Share sheet.
In these situations, you would need to convert HEIC to JPEG on your Mac. In this guide, we’ll teach you how to do so. There are various ways to convert this unique file format to the most compatible JPEG format. However, we’ll start with the differences between the two.
Part 2. The Differences between HEIF and JPEG
HEIF files have an extension of .HEIC while JPEG files use the extension .JPG. Generally, JPEG files are larger in size compared to HEIF files. However, they are compatible with all devices that understand common image file formats.
The great thing about HEIC files is that they are relatively smaller compared to other image file formats. And they promise to be smaller in size coupled with the same or even better image quality. However, HEIF files are not compatible with most devices.
However, in the future, where HEIF file formats become supported by all devices, it will be a great file format that will trump over JPEG and other image formats. This is because it requires less storage space which equates to greater efficiency and resolution. Thus, when Windows, Android, and even Linux start to support HEIC or HEIF, people would do better with HEIF files compared to JPEG files.