How to Convert HEIC to JPG on Mac, by Max Dalton on YouTube. 3 min 26 s.
- Video length
- 3 min 26 s
- Time to do it
- 5 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Open Finder and go to the folder that holds the HEIC images you want to convert.
Click one image to select it. To pick several, hold the Command key while clicking each file.
Right-click the selection, hover over Quick Actions and choose Convert Image. A small window opens.
Set the format to JPEG, pick an image size, then click Convert to JPEG. JPG copies appear in the same folder.
For photos already in Photos, open the Photos app and select the HEIC pictures you want.
Drag the selected photos out of Photos and drop them on your Desktop or into a Finder folder. macOS saves them as JPG during the transfer.
To control quality or file size, double-click a HEIC file to open it in Preview.
In Preview, click File in the menu bar, then choose Export.
Change the Format drop-down to JPEG, adjust the quality slider if you want, then click Export.
Choose where to save the file and click Export again. The JPG is saved to that location.
Tips and common mistakes
Quick Actions keeps your original HEIC files, so delete the duplicates later if you need to save space.
Dragging from Photos is the fastest route for iCloud photos, but check the exported file is a JPG before deleting the original.
Use the Preview Export method when you need a smaller file, since the quality slider controls the JPG size.
To stop new iPhone photos being HEIC, open Settings, go to Camera, then Formats and choose Most Compatible.
Questions
Will converting to JPG lose quality?
JPG is a compressed format, so a little quality is lost each time you convert. Keep the original HEIC file if you may need the full quality later.
Do I need to install any extra software?
No. All three methods use tools built into macOS, so nothing extra needs to be downloaded.
Can I convert many photos at once?
Yes. Select multiple files with the Command key in Finder, or select several photos in Photos, and convert them in one go.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
