PHOTO QUALITY · 6 MIN READ
HEIC vs JPEG: what it means for your photo quality
· CloudWink team
iPhones save photos as HEIC by default. It confuses people the first time they send a picture to a computer that cannot open it. Here is what the format is, and why keeping it matters more than it seems.
What HEIC is.
HEIC is Apple’s name for photos stored in the High Efficiency Image File format, or HEIF. It uses modern compression to keep roughly the same visual quality as JPEG in a much smaller file, often around half the size.
It can also hold more than JPEG: 10-bit color, depth information for Portrait mode, and Live Photo pairing. Videos use the matching HEVC codec.
What JPEG is.
JPEG has been the default photo format since the 1990s. Almost everything opens it, which is its greatest strength. It stores 8-bit color and needs larger files to reach the same quality as HEIC.
Converting is not free.
Both formats are already compressed. Converting HEIC to JPEG decodes the photo and compresses it again with a different, older method. You lose a little detail, the 10-bit color range and some metadata, and the new file is usually bigger.
Do it once to send a picture to someone. Do not do it to your whole archive. Every conversion is a step away from what your camera captured.
Compatibility today.
Modern iPhone, Mac, Windows 11 and recent Android devices open HEIC. Some older software and websites still do not. If you need a JPEG for one task, export a copy and keep the original untouched.
How CloudWink handles HEIC and HEVC.
CloudWink stores HEIC, HEIF and HEVC video exactly as your iPhone saved them, byte for byte. The app does not convert on your device, and our servers do not re-encode. We only generate small preview thumbnails beside the original so your library loads quickly. The original is never changed.
What CloudWink storesQuestions about this guide.
Should I switch my iPhone camera to Most Compatible?
Only if a device you rely on cannot open HEIC. Most Compatible saves JPEG and H.264, which take more space for the same quality.
Does CloudWink support HEIC?
Yes. JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC/HEIF, MP4, QuickTime, MP3, M4A and PDF are supported, and every file is stored without compression.