An iPhone set to High Efficiency saves photos as HEIC, which is smaller than JPEG and better at holding depth and HDR data — and which plenty of websites, older apps and non-Apple devices refuse to open. macOS can convert them, in three different ways depending on how many you have.

Method 1: Preview, One at a Time

  1. Open the HEIC in Preview.
  2. Choose File → Export.
  3. Set Format to JPEG and pick a quality level.
  4. Save.

This keeps the original untouched and writes a new file. Use File → Export rather than Save As — Export gives you the format and quality controls, and it does not overwrite the HEIC.

Method 2: sips, in a Batch

The built-in scriptable image processor handles conversion without opening anything:

sips -s format jpeg photo.heic --out photo.jpg

To convert a whole folder:

mkdir -p converted
for f in *.heic; do
  sips -s format jpeg "$f" --out "converted/${f%.heic}.jpg"
done

Add -s formatOptions 80 to set JPEG quality, where the number is a percentage. This is the fastest route for a folder of a few hundred photos and it needs no third-party software at all.

Method 3: A Dedicated Converter

A GUI converter earns its place when you want drag-and-drop, a preview, and output settings without remembering flags. HEIC Converter converts HEIC to JPEG or PNG, which is the single job done simply.

For anything beyond format conversion — resizing, upscaling, stripping EXIF — the tools are in a different category. Our guide to Mac image conversion tools covers that wider set.

What You Lose in the Conversion

Depth and HDR data. A HEIC from a recent iPhone can carry a depth map and an HDR gain map. A plain JPEG keeps neither, so portrait-mode blur becomes baked-in and the photo cannot be re-lit later.

Live Photo motion. The video track is part of the HEIC container. Convert and you have a still image; the motion is gone.

File size advantage. Expect roughly double the size for the same visual quality. Converting a 5,000-photo library to JPEG can add tens of gigabytes.

If the goal is compatibility rather than a permanent format change, convert copies and keep the originals. The HEIC is the better archive format — the JPG is the better thing to send someone.

Changing What the Camera Saves

If you would rather not convert at all, the iPhone setting is Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible, which makes the camera write JPEG directly. The cost is larger files on the phone and no depth or HDR data in the saved image.

On the Mac side, if storage is the real concern rather than compatibility, our guide to finding large files on Mac is a better starting point than converting a library in place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my iPhone save photos as HEIC?

HEIC is the container Apple uses for photos taken in High Efficiency mode. It stores the same image at roughly half the size of JPEG, and it can hold depth data, HDR information and a Live Photo's video track in one file.

Does converting to JPG reduce quality?

Yes, and the amount depends on the quality setting. JPEG is lossy, so converting a HEIC and then saving as JPEG re-encodes the image. Converting to PNG avoids that, at the cost of a much larger file.