Apple's default photo format since iOS 11 — half the size of JPEG at the same quality.
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the format your iPhone uses for photos by default. It stores images compressed with HEVC, which is why a HEIC photo is roughly half the size of the same photo saved as JPEG with no visible quality loss. Apple adopted it in iOS 11 to save storage, and every iPhone photo since then ships as HEIC unless you change camera settings. The catch is compatibility: Windows needs paid codecs to open it, many websites and government upload forms reject it, and older software has never heard of it. That is why 'convert HEIC to JPG' remains one of the most common file tasks on iPhone.
iPhone/iPad/Mac open HEIC natively in Photos and Preview. Windows 10/11 needs the HEVC codec extension. Most Android 10+ devices read it.
Upload forms, Windows recipients, and older tools expect JPEG or PNG. Converting on-device avoids sending personal photos to a converter website.
Filemorph can convert HEIC to JPG on-device — universal compatibility with every site, app, and device.
Filemorph converts .heic files entirely on-device on iPhone, iPad and Mac — no upload, no account, and it works in Airplane Mode.
Relevant operations in Filemorph:
For storage, yes — about half the size at equal quality. For compatibility, no — JPEG opens everywhere, HEIC does not.
Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible switches the camera to JPEG, at roughly double the file size.
Yes. Filemorph converts HEIC on-device — the photo never leaves your iPhone, and conversion works in Airplane Mode. HEIC conversion is in the free tier.