Quickly, easily, and without third-party software, convert HEIC-formatted photos imported from your iPhone to a more conventional file format.
If you have a Mac and you happen to import photos taken with your iPhone, you will probably have noticed that the format of your photos is somewhat exotic.
By default, iOS uses HEIC (for High Efficiency Image Codec, or HEIF for High Efficiency Image File Format), a so-called “high efficiency” format that Apple has chosen to use since the iPhone 7 to reduce the space taken up by photos on the device’s storage, without compromising on image quality. By way of comparison, the same image is twice as large in JPEG format as in HEIC format.
Unfortunately, while this file format is fully optimized for iPhone, daily use on a Mac can be problematic, for example when it comes to sharing the image on an online service that does not support file type.
To overcome this problem, it is then necessary to convert the image. And very often, the first instinct is to use a third-party application like HEIC Converter App, or to go to an online file conversion service, with the risk that this may entail for your personal data. However, macOS can natively convert your images in HEIC format to JPEG or PNG. It is also possible to do this very easily, in two ways.
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1. Use Preview
The first possible option for converting HEIC images to JPEG or PNG on a Mac is to use the macOS Image Viewer.
So start by opening your photo in HEIC format in Preview. Click on the File menu and then choose Export.
In the save window that opens, select your save directory, click on the Format drop-down menu to choose an output format and validate by clicking on the Save button. Your HEIC image is now converted.
2. Use the right-click context menu
macOS also offers another even faster option to convert your HEIC images to JPEG or PNG.
To do this, right-click on the file, go to the Quick Actions menu and click on Convert Image.
In the pop-up that opens before your amazed eyes, select Output Format, set Image Size (small, medium, large, actual size) and click Convert to button to start instant conversion of your picture.