Make sure you have Windows 10 version 1809 or later. How do I open an HEIC file in Windows 10?

Can store image edits, such as cropping and rotating so you can undo them.

Can store multiple photos in one file (ideal for Live Photos and bursts).

Around half the size of JPG for the same quality.

There are lots of benefits of using HEIF files, even if it is a bit confusing that the file is called HEIC rather than HEIF. These images are then stored in a HEIF file, which stands for High Efficiency File Format heic are compressed using HEVC, which is the high-efficiency video codec. In fact, HEIC is slowly usurping the established (but old and flawed) JPG format. The format was developed by MPEG - not Apple - so it's not Apple trying to do its own proprietary thing. If you copy photos from a recent iPhone or iPad to a PC or laptop, chances are you’ll see a lot of strange HEIC files:

Microsoft added HEIC (and HEIF) support in version 1809 (the October 2018 update), but you may still have to jump through a couple of hoops before the native Photos app will open these files and let you view them. The problem is that your laptop or PC probably can't open these HEIC files after you've imported them from your phone. The move away from JPG is to reduce file sizes and for its other benefits including the ability to have multiple photos (from a burst sequence, say) in one file.Īndroid 9 (Pie) also added support for this high-efficiency format, and it can be worth using it if your phone doesn't already save photos in this modern format. Since iOS 11, Apple has made HEIC the default file format for saving photos on iPhone and iPad.

How to save live photos on pc