How to Make iPhone Save Photos
as JPG Instead of HEIC

Why Does iPhone Save Photos as HEIC?

Starting with iOS 11 in 2017, Apple changed the default camera format on iPhones from JPG to HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container). HEIC uses the HEVC (H.265) video compression standard to encode still images, achieving roughly 50% smaller file sizes compared to JPG at the same visual quality.

The motivation was straightforward: storage space. When Apple introduced the iPhone 7 — the first model to support HEIC capture — the entry-level storage was 32 GB. By switching to HEIC, users could store approximately twice as many photos in the same space. A typical 12-megapixel iPhone photo occupies 2–3 MB in HEIC format versus 4–6 MB in JPG.

Beyond compression, HEIC supports features that JPG cannot: 10-bit color depth with the Display P3 wide color gamut (over 1 billion colors, compared to JPG's 8-bit / 16.7 million), alpha channel transparency, depth maps from Portrait Mode, and image sequences that power Live Photos. A single .heic file can contain multiple frames, which is how your iPhone stores burst shots and Live Photo sequences together.

The problem? HEIC is not universally supported. Windows PCs cannot open HEIC files without installing paid codec extensions. Most websites, online forms, and non-Apple applications reject HEIC uploads. Email clients often display HEIC attachments as generic file icons instead of image previews. If you regularly share photos outside the Apple ecosystem, you have two options: change your camera settings to shoot JPG, or convert HEIC photos to JPG when you need to share them.

Part 1: Change iPhone Camera to Save as JPG

The most direct solution is to change your iPhone's camera format setting. This forces the camera app to save all new photos as JPG instead of HEIC. The setting has been available since iOS 11 and the path is the same across iOS 12 through iOS 18.

Step-by-Step: Settings → Camera → Formats

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap Camera.
3. Tap Formats at the top of the Camera settings screen.
4. Under "Camera Capture," select Most Compatible.

That's it. From this point forward, every photo you take will be saved as a JPG file, and every video will be recorded in H.264 format instead of HEVC (H.265).

What "High Efficiency" vs "Most Compatible" Means

The Formats screen presents two options under "Camera Capture":

High Efficiency is Apple's default because it prioritizes storage savings and advanced image features. Your photos use less space, support ProRAW workflows on Pro models, and retain the full P3 color gamut and HDR tone mapping data.

Most Compatible switches the camera to the traditional JPG/H.264 pipeline. Photos are saved in the universally supported JPEG format that works on every device, browser, website, and application ever made. The trade-off is larger file sizes and the loss of some advanced capture features.

The Storage Trade-Off

Switching to Most Compatible means your photos will take up roughly twice the storage space. Here's what that looks like in practice:

For users with 128 GB or larger iPhones and iCloud Photo Library enabled, the storage increase is manageable. For users on 64 GB devices without cloud backup, the difference can be significant — especially when combined with apps, videos, and system storage. If storage is a concern, a better approach is to keep shooting in HEIC for the storage benefits and only convert individual photos to JPG when you need to share them with non-Apple devices or upload them to websites that don't accept HEIC.

AirDrop and Transfer Settings

Even if you keep shooting in HEIC, iOS has a built-in setting that automatically converts photos to JPG when you transfer them to a computer via USB cable or the Image Capture app.

Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap Photos.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen to find "Transfer to Mac or PC."
4. Select Automatic.

With Automatic selected, your iPhone will convert HEIC photos to JPG and HEVC videos to H.264 during USB transfers. The original HEIC files on your iPhone remain unchanged — only the transferred copies are converted.

The alternative option, Keep Originals, transfers files in their native HEIC/HEVC format without conversion. This is useful if your computer supports HEIC natively (all Macs do) and you want to preserve the smaller file sizes and 10-bit color data.

Part 2: Convert Existing HEIC Photos to JPG

Changing the camera format setting only affects future photos. If you have hundreds or thousands of HEIC photos already in your library, you'll need to convert them separately. Here are the most practical methods.

Method 1: Online Converter (Any Device)

The fastest approach for converting individual photos is to use an online converter directly from your iPhone's browser. Open this page in Safari, tap the converter widget above, select your HEIC photo, and download the JPG in seconds. No app installation required, and the conversion preserves full resolution and EXIF metadata (date, location, camera settings).

This method works on any device — iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows PC, Android, or Chromebook — and is especially useful when you need to convert just a few photos for sharing, uploading, or emailing.

Method 2: Files App Copy-Paste (iPhone Only)

iOS has a built-in trick that converts HEIC to JPG without any app:

1. Open the Photos app and select the HEIC photo(s) you want to convert.
2. Tap the Share button and choose Save to Files.
3. Save them to any folder in the Files app (e.g., "On My iPhone" or an iCloud Drive folder).

When you copy photos from the Photos app to the Files app using the share sheet, iOS automatically converts them from HEIC to JPG. The converted JPG files will appear in the Files app at the destination you chose. This is convenient for small batches but becomes tedious for large numbers of photos.

Method 3: Email to Yourself

When you attach a HEIC photo to an email using the iOS Mail app, the system automatically converts it to JPG before sending. You can email photos to yourself and save the JPG attachments on the receiving end. While this works, it's slow for more than a few photos and compresses images to reduce email attachment size.

Which iPhone Models Use HEIC?

HEIC capture requires the A10 Fusion chip or later for hardware HEVC encoding. Every iPhone since the iPhone 7 (released in 2016) saves photos in HEIC format by default when running iOS 11 or later. Here's the complete list:

If you own any iPhone released in 2016 or later, your camera uses HEIC by default. The iPhone 6s and earlier models do not have hardware HEVC encoding capability, so they save photos as JPG natively (though the 6s can decode and display HEIC images received from other devices).

iPad Settings (Same Path)

iPads use the exact same settings path as iPhones. If your iPad supports HEIC capture (iPad Pro all models, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 6th generation and later, iPad mini 5th generation and later), you can change the camera format by going to:

1. Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible

The transfer setting is also the same:

1. Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic

Both settings behave identically on iPad as they do on iPhone. All iPads that support HEIC capture will use it as the default format unless you change this setting.

Which Approach Should You Choose?

The right approach depends on how you use your iPhone and who you share photos with.

For most users, the best strategy is a hybrid approach: keep shooting in HEIC to save storage space on your iPhone and in iCloud, then convert to JPG on demand using the converter above whenever you need to share, upload, or email a photo to someone outside the Apple ecosystem. This gives you the best of both worlds — efficient storage and universal compatibility when you need it.