HEIC to PNG or HEIC to JPG?
Both conversions make an iPhone photo readable on Windows, Android and the web. The difference is what happens to quality and file size. JPG is lossy: it's small and perfect for sharing, but each save throws away a little detail. PNG is lossless: the file is bigger, but nothing is lost when you save it again.
So pick HEIC to PNG when the photo is the start of a project, such as a design, a product cutout or a print layout, and HEIC to JPG when you just need to send or upload it.
| PNG | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy, adjustable |
| File size | Several times larger than JPG | Small |
| Transparency | Supported | Not supported |
| Best for | Editing, design, cutouts | Sharing, email, uploads |
HEIF to PNG: what's in an iPhone photo
HEIF is the container format; HEIC is the name Apple uses for HEIF files compressed with the HEVC codec. An iPhone photo saved as HEIC is roughly half the size of the same photo as JPG, which is why Apple made it the default in iOS 11.
A HEIC file can hold extras that a PNG can't, such as depth data for Portrait mode and the bursts behind a Live Photo. Converting keeps the main still image, at full resolution. If a photo looks rotated after conversion in another app, check the original in Photos: the orientation is stored as metadata in the HEIC.
Other ways to convert HEIC to PNG
On a Mac, open the photo in Preview, choose File → Export and set Format to PNG. On Windows 11, install Microsoft's HEIF Image Extensions so the Photos app can open HEIC, then use Save as.
A browser converter is the quickest route when you're on a shared or work computer where you can't install codecs.
If you convert iPhone photos often, it's worth knowing that the camera can skip HEIC entirely: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible saves new photos as JPEG. There's no setting that saves straight to PNG, though, so for a lossless copy you'll always convert after the fact. Photos you've already taken stay HEIC either way.
