How to convert an image from HEIC to JPEG on Windows 10
Apple has made the HEIC image format common by adding it as the default image format on the newer iPhone models. It’s a format that can reduce the size of an image but still save it with exceptional details. Apple introduced this format so that users who take photos on their iPhone can maximize both local storage space and iCloud storage. iOS can convert HEIC images to JPG however, if you’ve already moved/copied them to your desktop and would like to convert images from HEIC to JPEG, you can.
HEIC to JPEG
In order to convert images from HEIC to JPEG on Windows 10, you need to install a free app called CopyTrans HEIC for Windows. You can find the download link at the very bottom of the linked page.
Installing the app is pretty simple however you should know that Windows 10 natively supports the HEIC file format via an extension for the Photos app. In order for CopyTrans HEIC for Windows to work, the app will uninstall the extension. You can install it later from the Microsoft Store but it may interfere with the app working.
Once the app has been installed, navigate to any HEIC format image on your system. CopyTrans HEIC for Windows has no interface to speak of. It works entirely from the context menu. Right-click the HEIC image that you want to convert and from the context menu, select the Convert to JPEG with CopyTrans option from the context menu. The image will be converted and saved to the same location as the original image. The original image will of course remain untouched.
As with any file conversion app, quality is key here and we’re talking about conversion between a format that is supposed to give excellent quality with a smaller file size to a format that reduces quality to maintain a smaller file size.
Comparing the original HEIC image and the converted JPEG image, the quality appears to have been preserved as far as a cursory examination can tell. Perhaps a more skilled eye can detect if there is any loss in detail. The original image that we converted was 1.25MB in size and the converted JPEG image came out at 2.40MB which is almost double the size of the original. Still, the increase in size does mean that quality has been preserved to the extent that JPEG allows it.
If you want to convert several HEIC images to JPEG, simply select them all and right-click any one of them. The conversion option will still be present in the context menu.
