Last Updated : | Wide Angle Software
HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) has been Apple's preferred format for storing digital images and videos since the introduction of iOS 11 back in 2017. HEIF encoded images are stored as HEIC files, which have an advantage of a smaller file size compared to JPG images, for an equivalent quality image.
HEIC images can be viewed natively on Macs and MacBooks. However, on Windows systems, you'll need to ensure you have some relevant extensions to be able to view images of this format.
To view iPhone HEIC formatted Photos on your Windows PC, follow the steps below:
TouchCopy can transfer your HEIC photos from your iPhone or iPad to your PC or Mac. While on Mac computers, HEIC formatted images can be viewed natively on computers running macOS High Sierra (10.13) or newer, HEIC image viewing is not supported natively in Windows. To view HEIC images within Windows, you will need to download both of Microsoft's Extensions below:
Using TouchCopy on your PC or Mac, you can copy any HEIC images (as well as other formats like JPG, PNG, GIF etc.) from your iPhone/iPod/iPad to your computer.
If you are running TouchCopy 16, the software will let you know if it detects any HEIC format images on your device. If it does, it will prompt you to download an additional component, which will allow you to preview your device's HEIC photos in TouchCopy, and even save them to your computer as JPGs.
If your iOS device can take HEIC formatted photos, it is possible to change the format in which photos are taken using your camera to ensure photos from your iOS or iPadOS device have the best compatibility with Windows 10 and 11.
To change the Camera format, follow the steps below:
There are currently two options available. These are 'High Efficiency' and 'Most Compatible'. By setting the format to 'High Efficiency', future photos and videos will be stored as HEIF/HEIC files. By setting the format to 'Most Compatible', future photos and videos will be stored as JPEG/H.264 files.
Please note that changing the camera format will only affect future photos and videos that are taken after the format has been changed. Existing photos and videos will not be reformatted to the newly chosen setting.
