Since iOS 11, the latest iPhones take photos in the HEIF format by default. This offers advantages, but sometimes it is more convenient to use the normal jpeg format. We show you how to adjust it.
Use the iPhone jpeg format instead of HEIF
If you have an iPhone 7 or later, such as an iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone XR and are running iOS 11 or iOS 12, your device will automatically take photos in the new HEIF format. This also applies to iPads running iOS 11 or higher.
Apple didn’t just make this change: HEIF photos offer the same quality as JPEG, but take up much less storage and therefore sync faster with iCloud. Moreover, the format is more favorable for your data bundle; if the file is smaller, you also need to upload less to the cloud. HEIF therefore stands for High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF).
A handy addition, although it can sometimes be more convenient to just shoot photos in the jpeg format. For example, if you want to quickly share photos with others who cannot open HEIF files. It is nice that if you continue to shoot in HEIF format and want to share something via standard applications such as AirDrop, Messages or Mail, it is automatically converted to jpeg or mov, so that everyone can open the files.
But photographing in jpeg can also be very useful if you prefer to edit photos in this format on your Mac or PC. Fortunately, in iOS, Apple offers the option to choose between both formats. It goes like this:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad;
- Scroll down and tap on ‘Camera’;
- Then choose ‘Structures’;
- Here you select ‘Most Compatible’ for the jpeg format. So ‘High Efficiency’ stands for the HEIF format.
If you have followed the steps, photos will be saved in the jpeg format again. So keep in mind that photos are larger and your iCloud account will fill up more quickly. If you are close to your limit, you can switch back to the HEIF format by following the steps above.
Video format changes with it
When you set photos to be shot in jpeg, the format in which your iOS device saves videos automatically changes as well. As soon as you shoot with jpeg on your iPhone, you automatically film in the mov format.
However, with the ‘High Efficiency’ option set, videos are saved in the HEVC format, which, just like HEIF, compresses your footage. This keeps the movie quality the same, but the file is 50 percent smaller.
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