Since iOS 11, iPhones and iPads capture photos in HEIC by default. It’s a genuinely clever format — it stores a high-quality photo in roughly half the space of a JPEG — but that efficiency comes at the cost of compatibility. Plenty of Windows programs, older apps, web uploaders, and photo kiosks still choke on a .heic file. Converting to PNG makes those photos open and upload anywhere, while keeping every pixel of the original.
You don’t need an app from the App Store, an account, or a cable to do it. The converter on this site runs entirely inside your browser — including mobile Safari — so you can turn HEIC into PNG right on the phone that took the photo, and the images never leave your device.
Convert HEIC photos on your iPhone or iPad
- Open the converter in Safari, Chrome, or any modern mobile browser.
- Tap the upload area. iOS will offer Photo Library, Take Photo, and Choose Files — pick Photo Library to grab pictures from your camera roll.
- Select one or many HEIC photos and tap Add.
- Each photo is decoded and re-encoded to PNG on-device. When it’s done, tap Download on a single result, or Download all as ZIP for the whole batch.
- iOS saves the file through the share sheet — choose Save to Files, or Save Image to send the PNG back to your Photos app.
Because everything runs locally, your photos never leave your phone — a real advantage when the pictures are personal. See our privacy page for exactly how that works, or the guide on whether it’s safe to convert HEIC online.
Convert iPhone HEIC photos on a Windows PC or Mac
Already moved the photos to a computer? Two common situations come up:
- Windows. If a program refuses to open your
.heicfiles, drag them onto the converter and download PNGs — no codec install required. (If you’d rather open HEIC natively in Windows, see how to open HEIC files on Windows.) - Mac. macOS opens HEIC natively, and Preview can export to PNG via File → Export. Our converter is handy when you have many files to do at once, or want to avoid exporting them one by one.
Why do iPhones use HEIC in the first place?
Apple switched the default to HEIC to save storage without sacrificing quality, and to support features the format enables — wider color, transparency, and image sequences like Live Photos. For an iPhone with thousands of photos, halving the file sizes adds up to gigabytes. The downside is only felt when you move those photos off the phone into a world that still expects JPEG or PNG.
Prefer to stop shooting in HEIC?
You can tell your iPhone to capture in the more compatible JPEG format instead. Open Settings → Camera → Formats and choose Most Compatible; new photos will be saved as JPEG. Note that this only affects pictures you take from then on — photos already in your library stay HEIC until you convert them. There’s also a separate setting under Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC that controls whether photos are auto-converted to JPEG when you move them over a cable. The full walkthrough is in our guide on turning off HEIC on iPhone.
Tips for best results
- Convert in reasonable batches (up to 50 files at a time) so mobile Safari stays smooth on large jobs.
- Expect the PNGs to be larger than the HEIC originals — that’s normal, because PNG is lossless. If size matters more than perfect fidelity, the converter’s “reduce file size” option produces a much smaller PNG.
- If a specific photo fails to convert, retry it, or open it in the Photos app and export a copy first — a re-exported still almost always converts cleanly.
- Keep your originals until you’ve confirmed the PNGs look right. Conversion happens on your device, so you’re in control of both copies.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an app to convert HEIC on my iPhone?
No. The converter runs in your mobile browser, so there’s nothing to install. Open the page, pick your photos, and download the PNGs.
Are my photos uploaded when I convert on my phone?
No. Conversion happens entirely on your device using WebAssembly, so your images are never sent to a server.
Should I convert to PNG or JPG?
PNG is lossless and preserves transparency, which makes it ideal for editing, archiving, and graphics. JPG produces smaller files and is fine for sharing photos. This tool outputs PNG; for a deeper comparison see HEIC vs JPG.
