You must be familiar with the HEIF image format if you want to find out what is an HEIC file because the HEIC is an updated version of HEIF file format. Digital photos and the image sequences are recorded in the HEIF format. After 2017, the most widely used image format among iOS users is HEIF. In order to compress without sacrificing quality, Apple has launched the HEIC format during this period of time.
This means that it can store and deliver high-quality images without using any additional storage space. So this is now becoming more prevalent than the JPG format.
This article helps you in knowing what is an HEIC file , how to open and convert in to other formats in detail
What is an HEIC File Type?
Apple provides high-quality images on all of its devices using a file format called High Efficient Image Container or HEIC. Because of its high efficiency, this format helps iOS in maintaining a good storage-to-performance ratio. The HEIC format has its roots in HEIF, or High-Efficiency Image Format, which was first introduced by Apple to manage images on their mobile devices. These files have greater quality than an average JPG image file and take less space.
Apple’s implied advanced compressive technology allows HEIC to optimize smartphone storage capacity. The format is derived from High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) which did a similar task of selecting high-efficiency video files so that they could be saved within half the space that a regular video file would have taken. Another feature regarding the ability of a HEIC is to store information from multiple frames into a single file that makes it possible to create live images and animation more efficiently.
Why to Use HEIC instead of JPG?
After knowing what is HEIC file, let’s know about HEIC vs JPG. Many customers have doubts why Apple does not collaborate with other device users by using the widely accepted JPG format. In earlier times, Apple’s preferred image and video formats were JPEG and MPEG.
Recently, it was found that a format that is suited for storing high-quality images and videos is required. Now, they need to improve smartphone cameras without sacrificing the Apple ecosystem’s recognized space-saving features. As a result, HEIC and HEVC emerged as the best formats.
There are various reasons why Apple uses HEIC format rather than other formats like JPG. They are:
- It provides a high-quality image format which maximizes the abilities of the latest Apple devices of high-quality camera sensors.
- The HEIC format can save half of the storage space because it uses 50% less space than a JPEG file of the same quality, while the camera sensors are the newest and the image quality is maintained.
- A lot of the metadata associated with the image clicked is preserved in the HEIC format. It helps in keeping track record of edits so that they can be reverted at any time.
Using HEIC format appears to be the better option because of these benefits and advantages, that enable the user to get the best out of the images.
How to Open and Edit HEIC Files?
HEIC files have not become very popular and the other manufacturers did not adopt the format as quickly. However, on a Windows PC, you may use the native photos application to open the file.
You must be able to open HEIC format images in any photo browser. However, it is recommended that you can use an application that specifically supports the format. This is because your HEIC format file may open as a single-frame image as it contains live images or animations that a typical photo browser may not recognize.
If you want to edit HEIC photos, you must first download an add-on like Photoshop or another best image editing software. If you want to use Photoshop to edit HEIC files on Windows, follow these steps:
- On your PC, open Photoshop and search for HEIC support.
- Find the necessary components at your Microsoft store.
- Then restart Photoshop after adding those components.
- Import the files of HEIC on your computer.
- If required, make any edits to these files.
As you can see, editing these files is a major problem . To make these high-quality files, they must be converted to commonly used formats like JPG, JPEG, or PNG.
How Can Images in HEIC Format Be Converted to Other Formats?
On a Windows PC, it is important to convert HEIC format images for use with other devices after knowing their limitations. Most importantly, for editing purposes. The HEIC converter tool which is provided by Tweaking Technologies is the most effective method for converting images from HECI to any other image format. This is how the tool works:
- Download the tool from the Microsoft App Store.
- Launch the tool on your PC, after the tool is fully installed.
- You can either drag and drop images onto the application’s home screen or introduce HEIC files for the conversion by using the Add Folder/Add HEIC Files option.
- Choose the format, quality, and whether to keep EXIF data and output path in the conversion settings by clicking the format drop-down menu on the right side of your screen.
- Click on Convert to change the format of the files.
- The tool allows the process instantaneous for your PC by enabling bulk conversion of HEIC files to other formats. All you need to do is install, add files, and convert.
The above steps help you in knowing how to turn HEIC into JPG or any other formats.
Conclusion:
With the help of all the information provided in the article it helps you know what is an HEIC file, how to open and convert it into other formats. Every image type has its own use, and the HEIC is not as old as PNG or JPEG. However, after its launch in 2017, this image format has become popular due to its lossless compression. Apple users enjoy saving storage space by capturing in HEIC format. In addition, it is a very safe file format, so that you may avoid any problems. For social media enthusiasts, the HEIC file might not be ideal because this file is still not supported by social media. The main drawback of the HEIC is its incompatibility with certain media and devices.
