The photo format behind that "this file can't be opened" message — explained, and compared to JPG.
HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. It's the default format iPhones have used to save photos since iOS 11, back in 2017 — so if you've taken a photo on an iPhone in the last several years and tried to open it on a Windows PC, an older Android phone, or in some web forms, HEIC is almost certainly why it wouldn't open.
It isn't a gimmick or an Apple-only trick, either — HEIC is built on HEVC (H.265), the same modern video compression standard used for 4K streaming. Applying that same efficient compression to still images is what makes HEIC files roughly half the size of an equivalent-quality JPG.
Storage. Phone cameras kept getting higher resolution, and phones generally don't have expandable storage, so every extra byte per photo adds up fast across thousands of photos. Cutting file size roughly in half without a visible quality loss was worth the compatibility trade-off, from Apple's perspective — especially since Apple controls the whole stack and every Apple device already reads HEIC natively.
HEIC also supports things JPG technically can't — image sequences (which is how Live Photos and burst shots are stored), transparency, and 16-bit color depth. A single .heic file can actually contain several images at once.
| HEIC | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Smaller, roughly half of JPG at equal quality | Larger |
| Compatibility | Apple devices, and newer Windows/Android with the right codec | Every device and app, no exceptions |
| Transparency | Supported | Not supported |
| Multiple images per file | Yes — Live Photos, burst shots | No |
If you're only ever viewing photos on Apple devices, you may never run into a problem. Converting is worth doing when you're sharing a photo with someone on Windows or Android, uploading to a site or form that rejects HEIC, or archiving photos somewhere you want long-term, universal compatibility.
Convert HEIC to JPG
The universally-compatible choice — free, in your browser.
Open HEIC on Windows
Two ways to fix it, with or without converting.
Is HEIC the same as HEIF?
Almost — HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) is the container format; HEIC specifically refers to images inside that container encoded with HEVC compression. In practice, on an iPhone, they mean the same thing.
Why did Apple switch to HEIC?
Storage. HEIC files are roughly half the size of an equivalent-quality JPG, which matters a lot when a phone is taking thousands of high-resolution photos with no expandable storage.
Can I make my iPhone save photos as JPG instead?
Yes — in Settings, go to Camera → Formats and choose "Most Compatible" instead of "High Efficiency." New photos will save as JPG going forward; it won't change photos already taken.
Does HEIC lose quality compared to JPG?
At the same file size, HEIC generally looks better than JPG — it's a newer, more efficient codec. The compatibility gap is the real cost, not image quality.