How to Quickly Convert HEIC Photos to JPG on Your iPhone or Mac

Your iPhone saves photos in the HEIF/HEIC format, which is a high-efficiency file type similar to the more popular JPG. If you need to use the photo on a website, open it on your PC, or share it with someone who doesn't have an iPhone, converting it to JPG will make the process much easier. We'll show you the easiest ways to convert an iPhone photo to a JPG, and how you can make your camera automatically save new photos as JPG instead of HEIF.

Quick Steps

Open the Files app on your iPhone.
Select a location and tap and hold an empty space.
Tap New Folder and name the folder.
Open your Photos app and tap Select.
Select all the photos you want to convert.
Tap the Share icon and select Copy Photos.
Navigate to your new folder in Files and tap and hold the screen.
Select Paste from the menu.

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

In the Files App

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1
Open Files
. You'll find this icon that looks like a folder on one of your Home screens or inside the Utilities folder.
- Use this method if you want your camera to take high-efficiency photos but want to convert them later. There are many third-party apps that claim to offer conversions, but they may contain ads or require payments to unlock special features, so this is the most reliable method.
- If you want your iPhone to take JPG photos by default, see this method.
2
Choose a location. Tap the Browse tab at the bottom of the screen and then tap the arrow next to Locations to expand the list of options. Select a location where you want to store your converted images, such as iCloud Drive or On My iPhone.
- Keep in mind that if you choose to use your iCloud Drive, the data used will be counted against your storage limit. If you save the photos on your phone, they’ll take up room on your device.
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3
Tap and hold an empty space. You can release your finger when a menu pops-up.
- If you already have a folder in your chosen location that you’d like to use, you can just select that instead.
4
Tap New Folder. A new folder will appear, and the keyboard will open so you can type in a name. You'll want to name this something recognizable since this is where you'll put your HEIC files to make them JPGs.
- Tap Done to close the folder creation window. Tap the new folder to open it.
Find the HEIC version of the photo you want to convert.

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High Efficiency Image Codec (HEIC) is a file format that provides high-quality images while minimizing storage space. However, they're incompatible with many apps and devices, so you often have to convert them to other formats.
You'll see this in the top right corner of your screen.
Any photo you tap will display a blue checkmark in the lower right corner of the thumbnail to indicate that it is selected. If you want, you can select multiple photos at once.
This share icon is in the lower left corner of your screen. When you tap it, a share menu will appear.
The photo you have selected previously will copy to your clipboard.
If you didn't close the Files app, you should be inside that newly created folder when you open the app.
You can release your finger when a menu pops up.
Your HEIC image will appear here in JPG format. Again, if you opted to use cloud storage, the images here will count toward your storage limit.

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Emailing Photos to Yourself

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1
Select the photo(s) you’d like to convert. When you send photos from your iPhone as email attachments, your phone will automatically convert them to JPGs. If you want to send photos to yourself or a friend from your iPhone, this is a quick and easy way to convert them. To get started, open your Photos app and select the photos you’d like to convert. To do this:
- Locate the photos in your Library, then tap Select at the top right corner of the screen.
- Tap the photos you’d like to send. A blue checkmark will appear in the lower right corner of each thumbnail.
- If you’re only planning to convert one photo, you can just tap that photo to open it without tapping the Select button first.
Whether you’ve selected several photos or just opened one, you’ll see the
Share icon in the lower left corner of the screen. Tap on it to open some sharing options.
3
Select your email app from the Share menu. In the second row of sharing options under your selected photo(s), you’ll see several app icons. Select an email app, such as Mail or Gmail. A new message will open with your photo(s) attached.
- You can also attach photos from within your email app.
  - In Mail, do this by tapping the left arrow button above the keyboard when you’re composing a message, then selecting the photo icon (which looks like a rectangular image of a landscape overlapping another rectangle). Select your photo(s) from your gallery.^{[1]
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  - In Gmail, tap the
    Attachment icon at the top of the screen when you’re composing a message. Tap All next to the Photos header and select your image(s).
4
Fill in the recipient information and send your message. If you want to send the photos to yourself, just put your own email address in the To field and hit the Send button. You’ll receive the message with the image(s) attached in JPG format.
- If you’re sending the email to somebody else, you might want to fill out the subject line and add some text to make it less likely to end up in their spam folder.

Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Taking JPG Photos by Default

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You'll find this gear-like app icon on one of your Home screens or in the Utilities folder.^{[2]
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You’ll have to scroll down in the main Settings menu to find it.
You'll see this under the "Record slo-mo" option near the top of the menu.^{[3]
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This should change from "High Efficiency" to indicate that your images will be in JPG format instead of HEIC.^{[4]
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Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Changing Your Transfer Settings (for PC)

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1
Open the Settings app. If you’re trying to move photos from your iPhone to a PC, this is a simple way to make sure they transfer in the compatible JPG format. Launch your
app to get started.
- Since HEIC images are compatible with macOS, this setting won’t affect how images transfer to your Mac. You’ll have to change your default photo format, convert the images before transferring them, or convert them on your Mac.
Scroll down in the Settings menu until you find the icon for the Photos app. Tap on it to open a new screen.
3
Tap Automatic at the bottom of the menu. Scroll down to the very bottom of the screen. Under the Transfer to Mac or PC header, tap Automatic. A blue checkmark will appear next to your selection.
- This selection ensures that any photos you transfer will automatically be converted into a format that’s compatible with your PC (in this case, JPG).

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Using Preview on a Mac

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There are a lot of ways to do this, but one of the easiest is to use AirDrop. However you choose to do it, locate your transferred images on your Mac once you’ve moved them over.
Once you locate the photo(s) you want to convert, select them and then Control-click on them to open a context menu.
3
Click Open With > Preview. If your Mac doesn’t open HEIC files in Preview automatically, you’ll need to select Preview from the pop-up menu. Hover over Open With and click Preview in the list of options.
- To always open HEIC files in Preview:^{[5]
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  - Open Finder and click on an HEIC image to select it.
  - Go to File > Get Info in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  - Under the Open with: header in the window that opens, select Preview from the dropdown menu.
  - Click Change All…, then click Continue to confirm. All HEIC photos should now automatically open in Preview when you double-click on them.
With the image open in Preview, click the File menu at the top of the screen and select Export….
5
Select JPEG. In the window that pops up, select JPEG from the Format dropdown. Use this same window to rename your file, choose a save destination, and adjust the quality of the exported JPG file.
- When you’re done, click Save. A new copy of the photo will be saved in your selected location as a JPG.

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Batch Converting with Automator

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Automator is a native app on macOS that’s very similar to Shortcuts on your iPhone or iPad. It’s a great way to streamline processes that would otherwise take a lot of time, like converting big batches of images from one format to another. To get started, click the
Spotlight icon at the top of your screen and type in automator. Click the first result to open the app.^{[6]
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You’ll see it in the bottom left corner of the window that pops up.
In the popup menu, click on Quick Action, then click Choose.
4
Locate the Copy Finder Items action and drag it into your workflow. In the search bar on the top left side of the Automator window, type in copy finder. When the Copy Finder Items action pops up in the search results, click and drag it into the big gray area on the right side of the window. This will add the action to your workflow.
- Adding the Copy Finder Items action will allow you to convert images to JPG without losing the original HEIC images. You can skip this action if you don’t care about keeping the originals.
- By default, this action is set to copy the selected items to the Desktop. You can choose a different destination in the dropdown menu for the action if you like.
In the search box, type in change type. Select Change Type of Images from the search results and drag it to your workflow area.
In the new action, you’ll see a dropdown next to the To Type: header that’s set to TIFF by default. Click the dropdown and select JPEG instead.
Go to File > Save at the top of the screen and enter a name for your file, such as “Convert to JPG.” Click Save.
Using your method of choice, transfer the images you want to convert from your iPhone to your Mac.
9
Select and ^ Control-click the files you want to convert. Open the location where your HEIC files are saved and select all the ones you want to convert. Once you’ve selected the images you want, Control-click them to open a context menu. To select multiple photos at once:^{[7]
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- Click one image in the folder and then press Command-A to select all the files in the folder.
- Hold Command-click while clicking multiple images that aren’t next to each other. You can also Command-click a single image to deselect it.
- To select several images in a row, hold Shift and click the first one in the row, then the last one. You can also click and drag your cursor over several images in a row to select all of them.
When the menu pops open, select Quick Actions > [your automated action]. The action will automatically run and save a JPG copy of your photo(s) to the location you selected.

Community Q&A

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Question

Are jpeg and jpg the same?

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Community Answer

Yes. In many cases, JPG and JPEG mean the same thing. JPG is just a short abbreviation of JPEG. By the way, .jpg and .jpeg are the same too.

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