How to Compress HEIC from iPhone without Losing Quality [Concrete Guide]

Last Updated on March 2, 2023 by Peter Wood


If you have already taken a large number of photos on an iPhone or iPad, how do you compress HEIC to save more space? Compare to JPEG, HEIC is a new file format designed with improved compression while still keeping the quality of the picture. When you need to compress HEIC files, you should learn more about the HEIC new compression, and the 2 workable methods to reduce the size of HEIC on Windows and Mac.

What is HEIC Compression

Part 1: JPEG V.S. HEIC, New Compression of iOS

1. What is the New Compression Method of HEIC

iOS 11 and above versions have already incorporated HEIC within the camera function, which is a new compression algorithm. However, you may not notice anything out of the ordinary when viewing your images on your iPhone. But when you need to back up the photos from iPhone, the photos will appear on your computer as new files rather than JPEGs.

HEIC/HEIF stands for High-Efficiency Image File Format, which uses a more advanced compression algorithm. It is a part of the new High-Efficiency Video Compression (HEVC) standard, often known as H.265 in the CCTV sector. At WWDC 2017, Apple’s Craig Federighi revealed HEIC to offer you up to two instances of the compression of a common JPEG image.

Furthermore, this new image compression format, the HEIF, was created by the MPEG imaging specialists in 2015. It is currently the default picture compression method in Apple's iOS 11. The same will be included in the next Android OS by Google.

HEIF Compression

2. JPEG V.S. HEIC, What are the Differences in Compression?

JPEG compression has been around since 1992, and as a result, JPG decoders are integrated into every piece of software that requires decoding JPG pictures, including web browsers, word processors, and e-mail applications.

As opposed to the 8-bit colors used in JPG, HEIF encoding employs 16-bit colors instead. This results in smoother and more natural-looking color photos with subtle color transitions, such as blue sky; blocky artifacts, which are characteristic of JPG, become less noticeable.

What is special about the HEIC compression compared to JPEG? The file size of HEIC is only half that of JPEG, but it provides a similar photo quality. In addition, the HEIC file format's ability to save space is only one of the many benefits and reasons to convert to it. Another feature of HEIC is its ability to compress a succession of photographs, such as when using the iPhone's 'burst shot' function.

HEIC VS JPG Size

Part 2: 2 Methods to Compress HEICs from iPhone

Method 1: How to Compress HEIC Files in Batch

How do you compress HEIC files in a batch? When you need to reduce the size of HEIC from iPhone, WidsMob HEIC is more than a HEIC compressor to reduce the size in the batch process. It also provides advanced features to add watermarks, rotates the HEIC files, resizes the photos, and converts the HEIC files to JPEG/PNG/GIF.

  1. Resize the HEIC photos to reduce the size of HEICs by percentage
  2. Adjust the photo resolution by entering the desired pixels per inch
  3. Choose the desired photo quality and the file format for conversion
  4. Provide the batch process to compress a large amount of HEIC files
Win Download Mac Download

Step 1: Once you have already installed WidsMob HEIC, you can launch the program on your computer. After that, you can click the Import button to load the desired HEIC files from your iPhone.

View HEIC Thumbnail

Step 2: Enable the Resize menu and choose the Percentage option from the drop-down list. You can either enter the desired percentage or resolution to compress the HEIC files in batch.

Resize HEIC Free

Step 3: When you select the desired HEIC files, you can click the arrow next to the Start convert button and choose the Convert Selected Photos option to convert HEIC files with a smaller size.

Choose Output Format

Step 4: After that, you can reduce the size of the HEIC with the slider. Choose the JPEG format to save the photos in relatively small file size. Select the desired output and click the Convert button.

Note: When you use the HEIC files on Photoshop or other photo editors, you can choose the PNG, BMP, and more other formats.

Win Download Mac Download

Method 2: How to Compress a HEIC Online

There are some online HEIC compressors to reduce the size of the HEIC files online. COMPRESSS is one of the frequently used methods to compress the HEIC files in batch. You can reduce the size of the HEIC by percentage and save it as a ZIP file.

Step 1: Prioritize HEIC quality. The HEIC quality setting ranges from 1 to 100, the best quality but least effective compression. As for the settings section is optional, which you may exit by clicking the X button on the right.

Step 2: Drag up to 100 HEIC photos into the Choose Files area. Each HEIC file may be up to 40 MB in size. It takes a period of time to import the photos into the online HEIC compressor.

Step 3: Batch compression begins when files are uploaded. Please wait when the files are compressed or uploaded. This section will be listed in the Output Files section in a ZIP file.

Compresss HEIC Online

Part 3: FAQs about How to Compress HEIC

1Is it possible to compress HEIC directly within iPhone?

Yes, it is safe to compress HEIC files online or using a third-party app. The method is only suitable for a limited number of HEIC photos. When you have a large number of files, it is difficult to compress the size and might also replace the original files.

2Why is the file size does not changed after compression?

It's possible that the file has been compressed previously or has a lower quality than the parameters. If the initial picture quality of a HEIC file is 80 or below, increasing the image quality to 80 will not decrease the file size. If this occurs, try inputting a lower quality value, such as 40.

3Why should you compress your HEIC files?

HEIC image compression reduces the irrelevance and redundancy of image data to allow more effective data storage and transmission. It seeks to reduce the number of bits needed to represent a picture. It should be a nice option to backup the HEIC files.


Conclusion

Compressing your HEICs decreases the size in bytes without compromising picture quality. Just learn more about the photo compression method of HEIC and HEIF. Whether you have the HEIC files from OneDrive or iPhone, you can reduce the size of a large number of HEIC files with 2 efficient methods from the article.

Win Download Mac Download

You may be interested