Have you ever taken a Live photo on your iPhone, sent it to another person or application, only to get “unsupported format” or “unknown file type” errors? That’s because it’s in the HEIC format as opposed to the normal JPG format. We’ll show you how to convert HEIC to JPG Photos so they’re compatible with other applications & devices.

What is Live photo?

Live photos are a single photo plus 1.5 seconds of video before and after the picture.

What are the benefits of Live photos?

You have a myriad of shots to choose from taken of the same subject in just a few second’s time. This is particularly useful if you have a kid or animal that can’t sit still, or if it would’ve been the best group pic ever if only Sally hadn’t of blinked.

What is an HEIC photo?

HEIC stands for High-Efficiency Image Container. That’s tech speak for a picture format that can hold lots of information in a smaller amount of space.  

Did you ever see one of those mattresses in a box on amazon? They shove a zillion pound mattress into a box the size of a child and deliver it to your door. Then as you cut it open, it violently inflates, flinging you across the room in a fit of giggles and shrieks.

HEICs are like that. Minus the flinging.

So, lots of stuff in a tiny compartment.

What does this mean for you? More room on your phone to take more cat pictures.

We’ll get into the other benefits of the HEIC format in a minute.

What is a JPG?

JPG is the most common form of format for photos. JPGs are what your digital photos have been forever. They are slightly compressed, but not nearly to the degree that HEICs are.

They’re more like the old smooshed mattress in your guest room, as opposed to a mechanically smooshed, vacuum sealed bed in a box.

Also, in case you were wondering, JPG and JPEG are the same thing. Both stand for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the group that originally created the standard.

Why JPG or JPEG?

The original founders were bad at acronyms.

Actually, the original file extensions for Microsoft were limited to three characters, hence, JPG. They’ve since extended the limit so the E for Expert can now be included.

Convert HEIC to JPG – The Benefits

Storage Space:

HEICs are more efficient than JPGs in compressing images. Word on the street says that HEICs compress at twice the rate of JPGs.

That means a lot more cat pictures.

Quality:

• Better highlights and shadows
• Extended dynamic range (the difference between the lightest light and darkest dark you can capture in a picture)
• Non-destructive edits (if you edit your photo, you’ll still have a copy of the original)
• 16-bit colors (tones available for color)

Compatibility:

Here’s where the shiny pretty thing loses a little bit of shine. HEICs aren’t compatible with many existing applications and devices.

The good:  Your phone is supposed to automatically convert HEIC into JPG when you try to upload or attach it to a third party app, or a native app like a text for example.

The bad: If you’re trying to save to your PC or to some applications like Google Drive, sometimes it doesn’t convert. 

Fret not. There are work-arounds.

How Do I Convert HEIC to JPG?

The latest editions of photo editing software such as Adobe Lightroom (paid) or GIMP (free) have begun to support the format.  Don’t know how to use or need involved programs like that?

Get an HEIC to JPG converter app from the Microsoft Store.

We recommend HEIC to JPG Converter like this one from Duckhead Software. It’s easy to use, doesn’t require uploading your photos to the internet, and has high ratings. You can convert 10 photos per day for free.

To get it, type the words Microsoft Store into the search on the bottom left of your screen.

Then, type HEIC to JPG Duckhead into the Store Search as seen in the upper right of the screenshot below.

Install it and convert HEIC to JPG by simply dragging and dropping your picture in no time.

Computer Questions?

We’re DRC Technologies & we’ve been serving the computer repair & general IT needs of the Lehigh Valley since 2002.

May all of your photographs be fun, beautiful, & full of cats!

– Shannie