How to Convert HEIC to JPEG (iPhone Photos on Any Device)
iPhone photos come in HEIC format that most websites don't accept. Here's how to convert them to JPEG in your browser, no software needed.
Last week I AirDropped 23 photos from my iPhone to a Windows laptop. Double-clicked the first one. Nothing happened. Tried the second. Windows Photo Viewer gave me a blank thumbnail and an error message. All 23 files, same story.
That was my first real run-in with HEIC. My phone had been quietly shooting in this format for over a year and I never noticed. Everything looked fine on the iPhone itself. The problem only showed up when I tried to use those photos anywhere else.
What is HEIC exactly
HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. Apple started using it as the default camera format in iOS 11, which launched back in 2017. The files use HEVC compression, the same codec behind modern video formats.
The selling point is file size. An HEIC photo takes up roughly half the space of an equivalent JPEG shot at the same quality. On a 128 GB phone that adds up fast. You can store way more photos before hitting the storage wall.
The catch is compatibility. HEIC works natively on Apple devices. macOS handles it fine. iOS of course. But Windows didn’t add native HEIC support until a 2018 update, and even then you need a codec extension from the Microsoft Store. Most Android phones can’t open HEIC files either. And plenty of websites, job application portals, and social media uploaders still reject HEIC outright.
So you end up with these photos that look great on your phone but are basically useless everywhere else.
HEIC vs JPEG at a glance
| HEIC | JPEG | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Smaller (about half) | Larger (about 2x) |
| Compatibility | Apple devices, limited elsewhere | Near universal |
| Image quality | Slightly better at same size | Very good, widely proven |
| Supported platforms | iOS, macOS, limited Windows | Everything. Literally everything. |
| Editing support | Some apps struggle | All editors support it |
| Web uploads | Often rejected | Accepted everywhere |
The bottom line is simple. HEIC is technically better. JPEG is practically better. Most of the time you want JPEG.
How to convert HEIC to JPEG
I use the ImgPrism convert tool for this. Your photos never leave your browser. Nothing gets uploaded to a server. The whole conversion happens locally on your machine.
Here’s what you do.
1. Open the convert tool
Go to imgprism.com/en/convert/. You’ll see the upload area right away.
2. Upload your HEIC files
Drag and drop your HEIC photos onto the page. Or click to browse. You can add one file or a bunch at once. I threw in 23 files from my AirDrop folder and it handled them all without any lag.
3. Select JPEG as the output
In the format dropdown, pick JPEG. You can also adjust the quality slider. I leave it at 90 for photos I care about and 80 for stuff I’m just posting online.
4. Download
Click download. Multiple files come back as a ZIP. Single files download directly. That’s the whole process.
Takes maybe 15 seconds from start to finish. I timed it.
Real test: iPhone 15 Pro HEIC vs JPEG
I wanted actual numbers, not vague claims. So I ran a test with photos from my iPhone 15 Pro. All shots taken in the default camera app, standard mode, no filters.
I converted them using the tool at quality 90. Here’s what I got.
| Photo | Resolution | HEIC Size | JPEG Size (Q90) | Size change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backyard, daylight | 4032x3024 | 1.8 MB | 3.4 MB | +89% |
| Coffee cup, indoor | 4032x3024 | 2.1 MB | 3.9 MB | +86% |
| Street at dusk | 4032x3024 | 2.6 MB | 4.7 MB | +81% |
| Screenshot (text) | 1179x2556 | 320 KB | 580 KB | +81% |
So yes, the JPEG files are bigger. Roughly 80 to 90 percent bigger. But the HEIC originals ranged from 1.8 to 2.6 MB, and the JPEG versions were 3.4 to 4.7 MB. For most uses that difference doesn’t matter much. A 4 MB JPEG uploads to any website without issue.
I checked the visual quality side by side on my monitor. At quality 90, I honestly couldn’t spot a difference. Not in the daylight shot. Not in the low light one. The JPEG versions looked identical to my eyes.
Skip the conversion entirely: shoot in JPEG
If you’re tired of dealing with HEIC, you can just tell your iPhone to stop using it. The setting is buried a bit but easy to change once you know where it is.
Open Settings. Scroll down to Camera. Tap Formats. Switch from “High Efficiency” to “Most Compatible.”
That’s it. Your iPhone will now shoot in JPEG instead of HEIC. New photos will work everywhere without any conversion step.
The tradeoff is storage. JPEG files eat more space. On my 256 GB iPhone 15 Pro I don’t really care. But if you’re on a 64 GB model and take lots of photos, the extra storage use adds up. Something to think about.
You can also change this setting temporarily. Switch to Most Compatible when you know you’ll need to share photos to a Windows machine or upload them somewhere. Then switch back to High Efficiency for daily shooting. Takes about five seconds.
Related tools
Once your photos are in JPEG format, you might want to do more with them:
- Compress images to shrink the JPEG file size further for web uploads
- Resize images if the resolution is too large for what you need
Both tools run in your browser, both are free, and neither uploads anything to a server.