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Convert HEIF to HEIC Online Free — Fast Batch Conversion
How to Convert Images Online
1Upload your HEIF file
Drag and drop your .heif or .HIF file from your Samsung, Sony, or Canon device.
2Convert to HEIC
Convertify re-encodes the HEIF with HEVC and writes correct HEIC brand boxes. EXIF and GPS are preserved.
3Download HEIC
Download your .heic file and import to Apple Photos, iCloud, or any iOS app.
Supported Image Formats
HEIC
Apple photo format used by iPhone and iPad. High quality with small file size.
HEIF
High Efficiency Image Format — same as HEIC, used on Apple devices.
WebP
Modern image format by Google. Up to 30% smaller than JPG with the same quality.
PNG
Lossless format that preserves every pixel. Best for screenshots and logos.
JPG
Universal format for photos. Supported everywhere, great balance between quality and file size.
GIF
Classic format for simple animations. Supports transparency and up to 256 colors.
BMP
Uncompressed bitmap format. Maximum quality but very large file size.
TIFF
Professional lossless format used in printing and photography.
AVIF
Next-gen format with excellent compression. Up to 50% smaller than JPG.
PPM
Portable Pixmap format used in Unix/Linux environments.
HDR
High Dynamic Range format storing extended brightness data.
FITS
Flexible Image Transport System used in astronomy and science.
PDF
Portable Document Format. Convert PDF pages to JPG, PNG or WebP images.
AVIF vs WebP vs HEIC vs JPG
Quick comparison to help you choose the right format
AVIF
- Size: Up to 50% smaller than JPG
- Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari
- Transparency: ✓
- Best for: Web performance
WebP
- Size: 25-35% smaller than JPG
- Browsers: All modern browsers
- Transparency: ✓
- Best for: Web compatibility
HEIC
- Size: ~50% smaller than JPG
- Browsers: Safari only
- Transparency: ✓
- Best for: iPhone storage
JPG
- Size: Baseline
- Browsers: All browsers & apps
- Transparency: ✗
- Best for: Universal sharing
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the difference between HEIF and HEIC?
- HEIF (ISO/IEC 23008-12) is the container format; it can hold images encoded with HEVC, AVC, AV1, or other codecs. HEIC is Apple's branded variant: a HEIF container carrying HEVC-encoded data with the .heic extension and heic/heix ftyp brand boxes. Samsung, Sony, Canon, and Windows Camera produce .heif files; iPhones produce .heic files exclusively.
- Can I just rename .heif to .heic?
- Sometimes, but not reliably. A rename works if the source contains HEVC and a compatible ftyp brand. It fails if the source uses AVC or AV1 inside the HEIF container, or if the ftyp brand is not HEIC-compatible. Software that inspects the container at the codec level — libheif, Apple Image I/O — may reject the renamed file. Convertify's re-encode produces a reliably compatible .heic with correct brand boxes regardless of the source codec.
- Does Apple Photos open .heif files?
- Yes, on iOS 11+, iPadOS, and macOS High Sierra+. However, third-party iOS apps that strictly match on the public.heic UTI may not recognize .heif files. iCloud Photo Library accepts both, but certain iCloud features and Apple framework APIs treat .heic as the canonical format. Converting to .heic ensures compatibility across the full Apple software stack.
- Is HEIF to HEIC conversion lossless?
- Not in Convertify's current transcode pipeline — the image is decoded and re-encoded with HEVC at the chosen quality level (Q=80 by default). A true remux without re-encoding is possible at the libheif API level when the source HEIF already contains HEVC, but vips_heifsave always performs a full decode-encode cycle. At Q=80-90 the perceptual difference from the source is invisible for photographic content.
- Does HEIF to HEIC conversion preserve GPS and EXIF?
- Yes by default. libvips reads EXIF (including GPS coordinates, capture time, camera make/model, lens info, and exposure settings) from the HEIF container and writes them into the output HEIC. Use strip=true if you want to remove metadata for privacy before sharing.
- Why does my .heif file not open on my iPhone?
- If the file is from a Samsung Galaxy, Sony, or Canon camera, the extension may not match Apple's expected .heic. Some apps and iOS share sheets use UTI matching — public.heif vs public.heic — and reject .heif files even when the codec inside is HEVC. Converting to .heic resolves the extension and brand mismatch.
- Can I convert Samsung Galaxy HEIF files to HEIC?
- Yes. Samsung's HEIF files use HEVC inside the HEIF container (Samsung Newsroom CamCyclopedia confirms HEVC encoding). libheif decodes the HEVC payload via libde265, and vips_heifsave re-encodes as HEIC with the correct brand boxes. EXIF, GPS, and color profile are preserved.
- Does iCloud accept .heif files?
- iCloud Photos accepts .heif uploads and stores them. However, the .heic format is the first-class native format for iCloud's storage optimization tiers, Memories, and sharing features. Converting to .heic before uploading ensures the files behave as true native iCloud assets rather than stored foreign files.
HEIF vs HEIC: the same container, different branding
HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format, ISO/IEC 23008-12) is the container standard. HEIC is Apple's specific variant: a HEIF container whose payload is encoded with HEVC and that uses the .heic extension and a heic or heix ftyp brand. Both use the same underlying structure, the same EXIF/XMP metadata slots, and the same ICC color profile mechanism. The difference is that Apple's frameworks — Photos, iCloud, UIImage, CIContext, and the Image I/O API — treat UTType.heic and UTType.heif as distinct types. Apple's own documentation (support.apple.com/116944) states that iOS 11+, iPadOS, and macOS High Sierra+ display both HEIF and HEIC, but third-party iOS apps that match strictly on the public.heic UTI, older Apple frameworks, and some iCloud features treat .heif as a foreign file even when the codec inside is identical.
Why you cannot just rename .heif to .heic
A rename works in the best case: when the source HEIF already uses HEVC as its codec and the ftyp major brand is compatible (heic, heix, or mif1 with HEVC). It fails in several common scenarios. First, if the HEIF was encoded with AVC (H.264) — some Samsung configurations and certain HEIF files from Windows Camera — renaming produces a .heic file claiming HEIC brand but containing AVC, which Apple's libheif-based decoders may reject. Second, if the ftyp brand is avif, avis, or another non-HEIC brand, the rename produces an Apple-unrecognized container. Third, software that uses libheif or Apple's Image I/O at the codec level inspects the brand, not just the extension. A proper conversion through Convertify re-encodes the content with HEVC and writes the correct HEIC brand boxes, producing a reliably compatible .heic file regardless of what codec was inside the source HEIF.
HEIF vs HEIC: format comparison
| Feature | HEIF (.heif) | HEIC (.heic) |
|---|---|---|
| Container | ISO/IEC 23008-12 | ISO/IEC 23008-12 (same) |
| Codec (typical) | HEVC, AVC, or AV1 | HEVC always |
| ftyp brand | mif1, msf1, heif, avif, etc. | heic or heix |
| iOS / macOS native | Opens in Photos (iOS 11+) | Native format since iOS 11 |
| iCloud Photos | Accepted, but may behave differently | First-class native format |
| Third-party iOS apps (strict UTI) | May reject .heif | Accepted as public.heic |
| Apple UTType | UTType.heif | UTType.heic (distinct) |
| Produced by | Samsung, Sony, Canon, Windows Camera | iPhone, iPad exclusively |
| Best for | Camera output, Android, Windows | Apple ecosystem integration |
Is HEIF to HEIC conversion lossless?
It depends on the pipeline. A true lossless remux is possible if the source HEIF already contains HEVC data: pull the raw HEVC tile bitstream, repackage with HEIC brand boxes, copy ICC and EXIF unchanged. libheif exposes low-level item APIs that enable this in principle. However, Convertify's current pipeline decodes through libheif and re-encodes via vips_heifsave — a transcode, not a remux. This means the conversion is lossy at the configured quality level. At Q=80 (Convertify's recommended setting for this conversion), the perceptual difference is invisible for typical photographic content, but the output is not a bit-exact copy of the source. If the source HEIF contains AVC instead of HEVC, transcoding to HEVC is definitively lossy regardless of pipeline. Use Q=90 or higher when archival fidelity is critical.
Samsung Galaxy to iPhone: practical workflow
Samsung's built-in sharing option converts HEIF to JPEG, not HEIC — the Gallery app's Convert HEIF images when sharing toggle produces JPEG. To get a proper HEIC for Apple Photos: transfer the .heif files from the Galaxy to a computer via USB or cloud (Google Drive, Dropbox), upload to Convertify, download the .heic files, and import to the iPhone via AirDrop, iCloud Drive, or cable transfer. Apple Photos on macOS will import the .heic files directly from Finder. On iPhone, import via the Files app to iCloud Drive and then add to Photos, or use Image Capture on Mac. EXIF data including GPS coordinates, capture time, and camera model are preserved through the conversion.
Apple ecosystem compatibility of .heic
Apple's support document (support.apple.com/116944) confirms that HEIF and HEIC media is supported on iPhone and iPad running iOS 11 or later, Mac running macOS High Sierra or later, Apple TV running tvOS 11 or later, and Apple Watch (watchOS 4+) for viewing. The .heic extension is recognized by Apple Photos, Quick Look, Preview, AirDrop, the iOS Files app, iCloud Photo Library, and Shared Albums. iOS app developers using UIImage, CGImageSource from Image I/O, or CIContext APIs for HEIC processing expect the public.heic UTI, which a .heif file does not provide. Once converted to .heic, the file integrates as a first-class native asset across the entire Apple software stack.
Metadata: EXIF, GPS, and color profiles
libvips reads EXIF, XMP, and ICC color profiles from the HEIF container via libheif (heifload.c metadata handling). These metadata blobs are attached to the VipsImage and written back into the output HEIC by vips_heifsave by default (strip=false). The resulting HEIC file contains the original EXIF tags — GPS coordinates, capture time, camera make and model, lens information, exposure settings, and ISO — as well as the ICC color profile. One metadata artifact that does not transfer: Apple's proprietary HDR gain map auxiliary image (urn:com:apple:photo:2020:aux:hdrgainmap), used in iPhone HDR photos to encode a gain layer for Apple's EDR display pipeline. Samsung HEIF files do not contain this Apple-specific gain map, so the converted HEIC will not display with Apple's HDR enhancement even if the source had HLG or wide-gamut content. The tone-mapped SDR image is visually correct on all displays.
How Convertify converts HEIF to HEIC
The Rust backend calls vips_heifload() which passes the file to libheif for container inspection and codec detection. If the source codec is HEVC, libde265 decodes; if AVC, OpenH264 decodes; if AV1, libaom or dav1d decodes. The decoded VipsImage carries the ICC profile and EXIF metadata. vips_heifsave is then called with compression=VIPS_FOREIGN_HEIF_COMPRESSION_HEVC and an output filename ending in .heic. libheif writes the HEIC brand (heic ftyp major brand) and encodes the image data using the x265 HEVC encoder (libheif README lists x265 as the default HEVC encoder, with kvazaar as a BSD alternative). Key parameters: Q=80 (recommended for quality-preserving HEIF to HEIC transcode, configurable), bitdepth=8 default (bitdepth=10 for sources that need 10-bit HEIC output), effort=4. The HEIC bytes stream to the HTTP response without temporary files on disk.