HEIC vs JPG: What's the Difference?
Since iOS 11, iPhones save photos as HEIC instead of JPG. HEIC keeps the same quality in about half the space, but many Windows PCs, websites and apps still can't open it.
HEIC vs JPG
Short answer
Keep HEIC on your iPhone to save storage. Convert to JPG when you need to share, upload, edit on Windows or print.
HEIC vs JPG at a glance
| Property | HEIC | JPG |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy (small files, some detail discarded) | Lossy (small files, some detail discarded) |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation | No | No |
| Opens in | Safari only; Windows needs an extension | All browsers and devices |
| Best for | iPhone and iPad photos (saves storage) | Photos, sharing, email, social media |
| Typical iPhone photo | About 1–2 MB | About 2–4 MB |
Use HEIC for
- Storing photos on iPhone and iPad
- Saving iCloud and phone storage
- Live Photos and depth effects
Use JPG for
- Sharing with Android and Windows users
- Uploading to websites and forms
- Printing services
- Editing in apps without HEIC support
Key differences
Compression
HEIC uses modern HEVC compression and typically needs about half the space of a JPG with the same visible quality.
Compatibility
HEIC opens natively on Apple devices and recent Android phones. Windows needs extra extensions, and many websites reject it. JPG works everywhere.
Features
HEIC supports 16-bit color, transparency, image sequences and depth data. JPG is a simple 8-bit photo format.
HEIC
What is an HEIC file?
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the file extension used for images stored in the High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) specifically when encoded with the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC/H.265) standard. Adopted by Apple in iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, it encapsulates single images or image sequences using the ISO Base Media File Format (ISOBMFF). It offers superior compression ratios-typically 50% smaller than equivalent JPEGs-while supporting 16-bit color depth, transparency (alpha channels), and non-destructive editing instructions.
How to open an HEIC file
Native support is available on macOS (High Sierra and later), iOS 11+, and Windows 10/11 (provided the HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions are installed from the Microsoft Store). Android 9 (Pie) and later also support the format natively. For older systems or non-compatible software, users often require conversion tools like iMazing HEIC Converter or must use viewers like VLC Media Player and GIMP, which have integrated HEIC decoding libraries.
- Full Name
- High Efficiency Image Container
- Developed By
- MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)
- Initial Release
- 2015
- MIME Type
- image/heic
JPG
What is a JPG file?
JPG is functionally identical to the JPEG format, differing only in the file extension length, a legacy constraint from the MS-DOS 8.3 filename limit (which allowed only three characters for extensions). It implements the same ISO/IEC 10918 standard, using lossy compression based on Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and Huffman coding to store photorealistic images. The file structure contains markers such as Start of Image (SOI) and End of Image (EOI) and supports color spaces like sRGB and CMYK, making it interchangeable with .jpeg files in all software contexts.
How to open a JPG file
As one of the most ubiquitous file types in computing, JPG files open natively on Windows, macOS, and Linux without external software. Default viewers like Microsoft Photos, Apple Preview, and Linux image viewers handle the format automatically. For editing or conversion, industry-standard tools including Adobe Photoshop, Paint.NET, and XnView provide extensive support. Web browsers universally render JPGs without plugins.
- Full Name
- Joint Photographic Experts Group
- Developed By
- Joint Photographic Experts Group
- Initial Release
- 1992
- MIME Type
- image/jpeg
HEIC vs JPG