iPhones save photos as HEIC to save space, and that works perfectly within Apple’s world. The trouble starts when you upload one to a website form, email it to someone on Windows, or open it in an older app: you get “unsupported file type”. Converting to JPG fixes that, and your Mac can do it in seconds, for free, with no upload. This guide covers every built-in method, including batches, and how to stop it happening in the first place.
What is a HEIC file, and why convert it?
HEIC is the photo format iPhones and iPads have used by default since iOS 11. It’s Apple’s implementation of HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format), storing the picture with the same HEVC compression used for video. The benefit is size: a HEIC photo is typically around half the size of a JPEG of the same quality, and it can hold extras like depth information and Live Photo data.
JPG (or JPEG, the same thing) is older and less efficient, but it opens everywhere: every website, every Windows PC, every printer and photo lab, every app.
So convert when the photo is leaving the Apple ecosystem. Keep the HEIC originals for your own library; they’re smaller and slightly better quality.
Which method should you use?
| Method | Batch | Quality control | Keeps location and camera data | Where the JPEGs go |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finder Quick Action | Yes | No | Your choice (Preserve Metadata) | Next to the originals |
| Preview | Yes | Yes, a slider | Yes | A folder you choose |
| Photos | Yes | Low to Maximum | Your choice (Location Information) | A folder you choose |
Terminal (sips) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Wherever you say |
Method 1: Finder Quick Action (fastest, works in batches)
- In Finder, select one or more HEIC photos. To select a whole folder’s worth, press Command-A.
- Control-click the selection and choose Quick Actions › Convert Image.
- Set Format to JPEG. The other choices are PNG and HEIF.
- Set Image Size. Actual Size keeps every pixel; Small, Medium and Large make smaller copies for email or the web.
- Decide on Preserve Metadata. Ticked, the JPEG keeps the date, camera details and the GPS location where the photo was taken. Untick it if you’re sharing the photo publicly.
- Click Convert to JPEG.
The JPEGs appear in the same folder as the originals, which aren’t changed. There’s no quality slider here, but the default is high enough that you won’t see a difference.
Method 2: Preview (choose the quality)
One photo
- Open the HEIC photo in Preview.
- Choose File › Export.
- Set Format to JPEG and move the Quality slider. The estimated File Size updates as you drag; a setting near the top keeps it indistinguishable from the original.
- Choose where to save and click Save.
Many photos at once
- Select all the HEIC photos in Finder and open them together in Preview (Control-click › Open With › Preview). They appear in one window, with thumbnails in the sidebar.
- Click in the sidebar and press Command-A to select every image.
- Choose File › Export Selected Images.
- Click Show Options, set Format to JPEG and the Quality you want.
- Choose a destination folder and click Choose.
Preview keeps the original file names, but saves the files with a .jpeg extension rather than .jpg. Both are the same format and work everywhere, but some upload forms check for “.jpg” specifically; rename them if one complains.
Method 3: the Photos app
If your iPhone photos sync to Photos on your Mac, export them as JPEG from there.
- Select the photos in Photos.
- Choose File › Export › Export [number] Photos.
- Set Photo Kind to JPEG and JPEG Quality to High or Maximum.
- Set Size (Full Size keeps every pixel), and tick or untick Location Information in the Include section.
- Click Export and choose a folder.
Avoid Export Unmodified Original, which gives you back the HEIC. And note that dragging photos straight out of Photos into Finder usually produces JPEGs, but this isn’t documented and can vary, so use Export when it matters.
Method 4: Terminal (sips), for big batches
macOS includes a command-line image tool called sips. It’s the fastest way to convert thousands of photos.
Convert one photo:
sips -s format jpeg IMG_1234.HEIC --out IMG_1234.jpgConvert every HEIC in the current folder into a subfolder called jpg, at 90% quality:
mkdir -p jpg && sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 90 *.HEIC --out jpgThree things to know:
- Always use
--out. Without it,sipswrites the new format over your original file. - Capital letters matter. iPhone photos usually end in
.HEIC, but files sent by AirDrop or email sometimes end in.heic. If you see no matches found, try the other case, or run the command once for each. formatOptionstakes a percentage orlow,normal,highorbest. Location and camera data are kept.
If you convert photos often, MightyBench’s Convert Images handles a mixed batch of HEIC, PNG, WebP, AVIF, TIFF, RAW and more, saves as JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, AVIF or TIFF with a quality slider, and makes sure every photo comes out the right way up. Location and camera details are stripped by default, so a photo you post doesn’t reveal where it was taken; keep them with one switch. Nothing is uploaded.
How to stop your iPhone from taking HEIC photos
If you’d rather never deal with HEIC, you have two options on the iPhone.
- Shoot in JPEG: go to Settings › Camera › Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos are saved as JPEG (and videos as H.264). Existing photos aren’t converted. The trade-off is that photos take roughly twice the space.
- Convert when transferring: go to Settings › Apps › Photos and, under Transfer to Mac or PC, choose Automatic. When you copy photos to a computer by cable, iOS may convert them to a compatible format. Choose Keep Originals to always get HEIC. (On older versions of iOS, this setting is under Settings › Photos.)
Also, when you share a photo by AirDrop, Messages or Mail with a device that doesn’t support HEIC, it’s often converted to JPEG automatically.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?
A little, technically: JPEG is a lossy format, so the image is recompressed. At high quality settings the difference isn’t visible, even zoomed in. To keep it that way:
- Use high quality (90% or the upper end of Preview’s slider) for photos you’ll print or edit.
- Convert from the HEIC original every time. Don’t re-save a JPEG as JPEG over and over; each save loses a little more.
- Keep the originals. All the methods above make copies, so your HEIC files stay as they are.
Don’t be surprised that the JPEGs are bigger than the HEICs, often around twice the size. That’s HEIC’s more efficient compression, not a sign that anything went wrong. If size matters, Resize Images or a smaller Image Size in Finder brings it down.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert HEIC to JPG on a Mac for free?
Select the photos in Finder, Control-click and choose Quick Actions › Convert Image, set Format to JPEG and click Convert to JPEG. Preview’s File › Export and the Photos app’s File › Export also convert to JPEG for free.
How do I batch convert HEIC to JPG on a Mac?
Select all the photos in Finder and use Quick Actions › Convert Image, which converts the whole selection at once. Or open them all in Preview, select every thumbnail and choose File › Export Selected Images. For thousands of files, use sips in Terminal.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?
Slightly, because JPEG recompresses the image, but at a high quality setting you won’t see a difference. Keep your HEIC originals and always convert from them rather than from an earlier JPEG.
Why is my JPG bigger than the HEIC file?
HEIC uses more efficient compression than JPEG, so the same photo takes roughly twice the space as a JPEG. The quality hasn’t improved; the format is just less efficient.
Does converting HEIC to JPG keep the location data?
It depends on the method. Preview and sips keep it. Finder’s Convert Image keeps it only if Preserve Metadata is ticked, and Photos only if Location Information is ticked. To be sure it’s gone before posting a photo, use a tool that removes metadata, such as Remove Metadata.
How do I stop my iPhone saving photos as HEIC?
On the iPhone, go to Settings › Camera › Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos are then saved as JPEG. Photos you’ve already taken stay as HEIC.
What’s the difference between HEIC and HEIF?
HEIF is the general file format, and HEIC is the version of it that iPhones use, with images compressed using HEVC. In practice, an iPhone photo ending in .heic is a HEIF image.
Is .jpeg the same as .jpg?
Yes. They’re two spellings of the same file extension for the same format. Preview saves .jpeg; most other tools save .jpg. If a website rejects one, rename the file to the other.