How to open and convert HEIC image to JPG or PNG?

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How to open and convert HEIC image to JPG or PNG?

Windows 10 and 11:

How to open and convert HEIC image to JPG or PNG?



A friend sends you a picture in HEIC format and unfortunately you can't see it? No need to call cleats or change phones. Read this tutorial and you will know everything about HEIC.

While importing a HEIC image from your iPhone or iPad to your Windows PC, you may have noticed that your computer is unable to read it. It's not a matter of PC/Mac compatibility, it's just a weird image format on your computer. On the latter Mac (High Sierra and later), macOS fully recognizes HEIC. However, do not panic, it is possible to view the HEIC image on Windows and convert it to other formats such as JPG or PNG.

What is HEIC/HEIF File?

HEIC (for High Efficiency Image Codec) is the default image format for iPhone and iPad. It appeared with the iPhone 7 (with A9 chip) and iOS 11 release in September 2016. Contrary to what one might think, Apple did not invent HEIC technology .

It is the work of the independent MPEG group (Moving Picture Experts Group), to which we already owe the famous MPEG video codecs. This international group of experts developed the HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format) standard in 2013 and it was only completed in 2015.

With the optimization of video sensors, the idea was to find a codec that is less storage space consuming than JPEG, but also better quality. The HEIF image format itself is based on developments in the HEVC (High Efficiency Video Codec) video codec, which is often known as H265 because it is newer than H264 (= MPEG 4). The idea is to find an alternative to the old JPEG, dating from 1992.


What are the advantages of HEIC?

Unlike JPEG which is a simple image codec (multimedia information codec/decoder), HEIF (and therefore HEIC) is also a container. This means that it can collect one or more image files, but it can also collect additional data.

This metadata can be EXIF tags (information associated with each shot such as ISO, shutter speed), XMP (snapshot editing stages such as rotation or saturation), alpha channel (for transparency) or depth map (recording a "cropped" face in portrait mode). Apple has added other specific metadata to the HEIC standard such as filters.


Thanks to HEIF, it is always possible to find an original image on the iPhone / iPad, despite resizing, emoji and other retouching. This is because all changes made to the HEIC/HEIF file are non-destructive, according to computer terminology. In other words, it is always possible to revert to the original image despite cropping it or further editing on it. The file that is not visible to us (and is in the HEIC file) preserves the various editing steps, applying them in real time to the original image file, just like the giant Photoshop layer. This is an important advantage over JPEG since image quality deteriorates during editing.

In addition, HEIF is a container capable of collecting many images . Thus HDR, GIF sequences or batches of photos taken on iPhone/iPad are the result of HEIC.


Finally, HEIC provides better compression than JPEG. Apple has announced that its HEIC codec reduces JPEG file size by 50% for equivalent or better quality. The JPEG image is actually encoded on 8 bits while HEIC allows encoding on 16 bits (hence more nuances of dark and light tonals). The downside to this new codec is that it requires more computing power.

HOW TO VIEW HEIC/HEIF FILE IN WINDOWS PHOTOS APP

By default, Windows 10 or Windows 11 cannot read this strange file format. In Windows File Explorer or Photo app, HEIC files will not be recognized and will not be read. It is therefore necessary to install a small program so that your HEIC file is accepted by Windows, in its file explorer in particular. Rest assured, there is no need to take out the credit card. There are a large number of HEIC apps (usually paid), but Microsoft has a free app.



It bears the beautiful name "HEIF Image Extensions" []. Then click "Get" from the custom web page (which will redirect you to the Windows Store) or type "HEIF Image Extensions" in the Windows Store search box. 1.52 MB software is installed and your photos will then appear in File Explorer as well as in the native photo app. If you update your Windows 10 version (version 1803 and later), your HEIC/HEIF files will be read correctly by your operating system.

HOW TO CONVERT HEIC/HEIF FILE TO JPEG ON WINDOWS?

HEIC is a format full of advantages, but still little exploited by a large number of programs (Office suite, certain editors ...) or web services (WordPress ...). So we advise you to convert them to JPEG or PNG to make it easier to work with. Once the "HEIF Image Extensions" is installed, the Photos application, the viewer installed by default in Windows, is able to open the HEIC file but also to save it in JPEG format, but also in PNG, TIF, BMP, GIF...

Besides, Paint, which is the primary Windows image editing software, can open and convert a HEIC/HEIF file. However, photos or paint are limited to image conversion because they cannot batch process.


To perform batch conversions of HEIC / HEIF images, it is better to turn to specialized programs. Several applications (free and paid) are available for conversion:

CopyTrans is especially easy to use. After installing the app, open the file explorer and then right-click on the HEIC image(s) to convert. A menu opens and then suggests "Convert to JPEG using CopyTrans". Validate with a left-click. The images are converted to JPEG in the same folder. Original HEIC files are not deleted.



What applications can open a HEIC/HEIF file?

Newer photo editing apps are able to open (and convert) HEIC files. So we note paytimes like Photoshop or Affinity Photo, but also open source software like GIMP (since version 2.10) or Krita .


What web services are used to convert HEIC/HEIF file to JPEG?

If you only need files occasionally, a web service may suffice. Unlike an application, there is no need to install an executable file (sometimes prohibited on some desktop computers). Only a modern web browser is required. Like any file sent to a web platform, it is likely to be hackable and accessible to malicious people. Therefore, we advise against using the cloud conversion service for professional photos (sensitive data) or intimate photos.

List of HEIC> JPEG converters on the Internet (cloud computing):



HOW TO TURN OFF HEIC RECORDING ON IPHONE/IPAD?

By default, photos and videos are saved in HEIC. To improve the portability of your data, it may be more convenient to change your settings. Just go to Settings > Camera > formats, then check the most compatible. From now on, the photos will be saved in JPEG format and videos in MOV format (using an MP4 codec). Remember that screenshots are not affected since they are kept in PNG format.



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