HEIC to JPG on iPhone
One setting changes what your camera saves from now on. For the photos you already have, the Share sheet and the Preview app can hand them over as JPG.
How to convert HEIC photos to JPG on your iPhone
To take new photos as JPG, open Settings, tap Camera, then Formats, and choose Most Compatible. For a photo you already have, open it in Photos, tap Share, tap Options and choose Most Compatible before sharing it. The Preview app in iOS 26 and later can also export any image as a JPEG.
Take new photos as JPG
Changes every photo you take from now on. Photos you already have stay HEIC.
Open the camera formats
Open Settings, tap Camera, then tap Formats.
Choose Most Compatible
Tap Most Compatible. New photos are saved as JPG and new videos as H.264. To switch back to the space-saving formats, choose High Efficiency.
This option appears only on iPhones that can take HEIC photos: iPhone 7 and later.
Export a JPEG with the Preview app
For a HEIC file in the Files app, such as one you received or saved there. Needs iOS 26 or later.
Open the image in Preview
Open the Preview app, tap Browse and find the HEIC file, then tap it.
Tap Export
Tap the menu button next to the file name, then tap Export, and select JPEG.
Choose the size and save
Drag the Size slider left for a smaller file size or right for higher quality. Choose a location for the file, optionally rename it in the Save As field, then tap Save.
Copy photos to a computer as JPG
For moving lots of existing photos to a Windows PC or Mac with a cable.
Leave Keep Originals off
Open Settings, tap Apps, then Photos, and scroll to the bottom. Keep Originals prevents conversion, so leave it off. Apple says photos imported to a computer might then be converted to JPEG.
Connect and import
Connect the iPhone with a USB cable, unlock it, tap Trust if asked, and import with the Photos app on the computer.
With iCloud Photos and Optimize Storage, download the originals to the iPhone first; photos that live only in iCloud can’t be imported over the cable.
Or convert in your browser with ToolHero
ToolHero converts photos on your own device, with nothing sent to a server. It opens HEIC wherever the browser can decode it, through its own HEIC support or the device’s HEVC video decoder. Where it can’t, the photo tells you, so you can share the pictures from the iPhone as JPGs instead, with the steps above.
Thousands of photos to sort out?
The ToolHero desktop app for Mac and Windows is on the way. Copy your library across once, then convert whole folders at a time, privately on your computer.
Questions, answered
Will Most Compatible use more storage on my iPhone?
Yes. Apple says HEIC and HEVC give better compression than JPG and H.264, so the same photos and videos take up less space. With Most Compatible, expect each new photo to be a bigger file.
Do AirDrop and Messages convert photos to JPG?
Sometimes. Apple says that when the receiving device doesn’t support HEIC, a photo sent with AirDrop, Messages or email might be sent in a more compatible format such as JPG. To be sure, choose Most Compatible under Options before you share.
What’s the difference between Automatic, Current and Most Compatible?
They’re the format choices under Options when you share from Photos. Automatic picks the best format for where the photo is going, Current keeps the photo’s own format so a HEIC stays HEIC, and Most Compatible may convert it to JPG.
Why do my photos still arrive on my computer as HEIC?
Check Settings > Apps > Photos: with Keep Originals selected, your iPhone copies photos exactly as they are. iCloud Photos also keeps every photo in its original format, so photos synced that way stay HEIC.
Which iPhones save photos as HEIC?
Apple lists iPhone 7 and later as the models that capture photos in HEIC. On those, Settings > Camera > Formats is where you choose Most Compatible to take JPGs instead.