Convert HEIC to JPG
Image quality similar to a JPEG but at half the file size? Sounds too good to be true, right? Thanks to iOS 11’s adoption of the HEIF (.HEIC) image format, you can now store more photos on your iPhone and iPad than ever before.But therein lies the catch. The rest of the industry has been rather slow to adopt this potentially game-changing image format. If you just transferred a bunch of HEICs from your iPhone to your PC, then you might be scratching your head over what to do with them.
Fortunately, there are a few ways you can use to convert HEIC files to the universally supported JPG format. So let’s take a look.
Install Microsoft HEIC codec
This is not actually a ‘conversion’ method per se, but you can open and view HEIC images directly on PC. Surprisingly, Microsoft has its own HEIC codec – you just need to install it.
To do so, open the Windows Store app, search for convert heic to jpg Extensions, and then select the extension with the same name. If you’re having trouble locating the codec, use the Download button below.
Download HEIF Image Extensions
On the HEIF Image Extensions screen, click Install. Once the codec finishes downloading, you should be able to view the HEIC files in the Photos app immediately.
And to make things even better, Windows 10 should also start generating thumbnail previews of HEIC images. Very convenient for checking thumbnails before clicking to open a photo.
Unfortunately, you can’t save your files to JPG or PNG after opening, but the ability to view images without going through any conversion procedures feels great. If you want to convert your files, let’s move on.
iOS ‘automatic’ transfer mode
Apple is more than aware of compatibility issues with the HEIC format. Before we check out any third-party converters, let’s look at a built-in iOS setting that enables automatic conversions during file transfers to Windows 10 via USB.
