How to stop iPhone from taking photos in HEIC

Written By Nidhi Reviewed By How-to iPhone 2 Min Read

With iOS 11, Apple introduced the HEIC/HEIF image format to compress the file size up to 50% without compromising quality. Compared to JPEG, HEIF is more efficient and offers an ideal way to manage photo storage.

The only catch with a high-efficiency format is that it’s not yet universally supported. However, you can prevent your iPhone from capturing photos in HEIC. Read on to know how.

How to turn off HEIC on my iPhone and save photos in JPEG

  1. Launch Settings on your iOS device.
  2. Now, tap Camera.
  3. Next, tap Formats.
  4. Next up, select Most Compatible.

    Tap on Camera and Formats and Select Most Compatible on iPhone

Now, your iPhone will shoot pics in JPEG format and videos in H.264 format. However, you will have to switch to High Efficiency whenever you want to shoot 4K at 60 fps and 1080p at 240 fps.

Automatically convert iPhone photos to JPEG when transferring to Mac or Windows PC

The latest versions of iOS allow you to automatically convert HEIC images to JPEG when transferring to Mac or PC.

  1. Open Settings on your iOS device → Photos.
  2. Now, scroll down and select Automatic.

    Tap on Photos and Select Automatic on iPhone

That’s pretty much it!

Your take?

Though “Heek” may not be widely supported as yet, it’s the future. Therefore, I would suggest you go for JPEG only when you have to deal with the incompatibility issue. Have any questions? Let us know that down below in the comments.

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By Nidhi
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A tech-aficionado whose superpower lies in blabbering interminably about new technologies. After 4+ years and 4500+ content pieces that helped diverse companies grow, I followed my passion and made iGeeks Media my home. When not gushing over technology, you will find me immersed in a fictional world, either reading or creating one.
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