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HEIF v JPG - What is your default iPhone picture format & why?


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phillytim

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Aug 12, 2011
1,784
1,272
Philadelphia, PA
I'm taking a fresh look, as I prepare to transition to an iPhone 15 Pro Max; do most people accept the default HEIF?

HEIF (High Efficiency) vs JPG (Most Compatible)

Does HEIF still have significant compatibility barriers, when sharing photos?
 
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always JPEG for me. not living in an all-Apple family or workplace and I don't want to worry about converting it before sending.
 
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HEIF easily because better quality and less storage taken. I also don't really upload photos or send them outside of iMessage/Airdrop. The few photos I have send via FB Messenger I have never had issues using the HEIF images so my day-to-day lifestyle no issues.
 
I've always used HEIF and never had any issues. It takes up less space on my phone and can automatically convert to another format when transferring.

There is another separate, but related, setting found under Settings -> Photos.

Transfer to Mac or PC:
  • Automatic: This will convert the photos/videos to a compatible format on the fly as they're being transferred.
  • Keep Originals: This will keep the HEIF/HEVC format, but your computer may have trouble viewing the pictures/videos.
 
HEIF. I don't know what people are talking about when they say they encounter compatibility issues. Every time I do anything to transfer the photo out of the phone, unless it is straight to another Apple device, it converts to jpg. I actually don't know how to create a compatibility issue. Perhaps those users have scenarios that I never do or they don't know about the "automatic vs keep originals" setting.
 
HEIF. I don't know what people are talking about when they say they encounter compatibility issues. Every time I do anything to transfer the photo out of the phone, unless it is straight to another Apple device, it converts to jpg. I actually don't know how to create a compatibility issue. Perhaps those users have scenarios that I never do or they don't know about the "automatic vs keep originals" setting.

For example, OneDrive app will upload the original HEIC file without conversion to the cloud.

If that same user downloads from the cloud the HEIC file onto a Windows 10 computer (without the HEIF extensions installed from Microsoft), they can't view the photo.
 
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I'm gonna put my eyes where my curiosity is, and try living the HEIF life on my current 11PM.

IMG_0754.jpeg
 
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I’ve been using HEIF for smaller file sizes since that option became available.

Apple’s been pretty good with the auto-conversion when needed.
 
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