Out of the box, Windows does not support .HEIC files, so you can't open photos transferred directly from your iPhone or iPad devices. But the solution is simple.
How to Open .HEIC iPhone Photos in Windows
- Thread starter Amir Shoam
- Start date
Just Some Dude
Posts: 27 +22
Squid Surprise
Posts: 5,605 +5,238
Kind of a slap in the face that Windows doesn't natively support them... why not MS?
GregonMaui
Posts: 331 +121
A good question. Why can’t windows read Mac formatted disks, why no windows on ARM licensing? Seeing a pattern?
Hey some people complain that you can’t (anyone who says can’t is either lying or wrong) write to some windows formats from a Mac even if you can read them, but you can install file systems on the Mac to accomplish this. Windows won’t even read Mac formats, @&$$&@&$
elementalSG
Posts: 270 +481
When I first encountered HEIC files a few years ago, my initial reaction was "What the HEIC?"
We've been using the $1 HEVC Video Extensions codec since it's actually good for 20 concurrent licenses/installs., Actually getting it to download properly from the app store is sometimes problematic (it'll stall out with a generic "problem on our end" error message) but usually installs eventually. It works perfectly fine once it's there and integrates properly with no issues.
I will give CopyTrans HEIC a try though.
I will give CopyTrans HEIC a try though.
HEVC/HEIC isn't a Mac format. Samsung Galaxy Android phones use this codec as well for photos. Nearly all modern Android phone use HEVC for video.
Microsoft would have to pay a licensing fee to include a decoder so instead they opted to push the licensing cost on to the user. Blame the organization who owns the codec for being so greedy.
Hopefully AV1 will be rapidly adopted for video, not sure if it also can be used for images.
Just Some Dude
Posts: 27 +22
Because HEIC format is owned by MPEG and they have nearly 4,000 patents on it and you have to pay to use it. Microsoft do not want to spend the billions it would cost to add it to windows.
Squid Surprise
Posts: 5,605 +5,238
It would simply mean paying about a dollar a user... you don’t think MS could afford to do that? And I’m pretty sure they’d simply raise the price of Windows to compensate...
They're not a charity, they're not gonna pay your rent.
Squid Surprise
Posts: 5,605 +5,238
Hence the raising the price of Windows... reading comprehension is your friend...
Why would they raise the price for everyone if YOU can just buy it IF you need it? It's a random cherry picked paid feature, no one cares if you buy it or not. It's up to you, just like with the 9 million other paid features and apps you can buy for Windows. Especially when free alternatives are available.
Squid Surprise
Posts: 5,605 +5,238
Alas, you missed the point... all major file formats should be supported by MS - and HEIC has become one of these. It’s not just “me” - but millions of others who would like it. Very few would bat an eye if MS raised the price by $1(monopolies are nice) - but already many are disgruntled that they can’t edit their photos without hassle...
Also, I’m sure MS could make an agreement with the owners of the HEIC patent that would cost far less than $1 per user - again, monopolies are nice - they just can’t be bothered. BUT, if enough people like me complain, perhaps they will do this in a future service pack...
Why? And why is HEIC a "major" file format? Because you said so? There are millions of file formats not supported by Windows. That's why you have 3rd party apps that support them.
Do you even know what the term "OS" means? Windows is not opening HEIC files, photo viewer apps do. I happen to use IrfanView, which happens to support HEIC files too. For free. I don't need that $1 garbage.
You insist on using the "Photos" app, which doesn't support HEIC without purchasing a license. What are you even complaining about? It's your choice, no one forces you to use that app. All MS does is comply with MPEG LA's licensing.
Some other 3rd party apps just don't care and knowingly infringe those licenses. The minor ones are just too small to be sued by MPEG LA, so they can get away with it. Simple as that. Others like Adobe most certainly also add that price to their own products.
For the record, certain hardware vendors sometimes pay for these licenses too, so on certain laptops you may get this paid extension "for free" (I.e. it's factored in the laptop's price).
Last edited:
Squid Surprise
Posts: 5,605 +5,238
it’s the default for iPhones and a Samsung phones... you understand that MILLIONS of people use those, right?
operating system... and they give me MS Paint - it opens tons of picture files... why not HEIC?
if MS Edge didn’t support HTML, would you tell me to just use Chrome or Firefox?
MS has tons of bargaining power - almost everyone has at least one device with Windows on it...
Mr Majestyk
Posts: 2,062 +1,903
Even Nikon is using HEIC for it's RAW files on the flagship Z9. More cameras need to support it and jpeg needs to disappear, it's woefully out of date.
Just Some Dude
Posts: 27 +22
They could, but they don’t need to. Heic is not a windows image format, and hopefully the world is moving to more open, free format.
Squid Surprise
Posts: 5,605 +5,238
They don't NEED to do anything... they have a monopoly... but Windows can open plenty of image formats that aren't "Windows Image Formats"... why not HEIC?
Just Some Dude
Posts: 27 +22
It would cost them at least $1.3 billion dollars.
Squid Surprise
Posts: 5,605 +5,238
lol... no... I suspect they'd be able to negotiate a far cheaper rate considering the monopoly they hold over desktop/laptop devices...
And again, simply adding a few cents to the cost of Windows would cover it...
Just Some Dude
Posts: 27 +22
Apple Pay over a $1 per device as they use extra bits of the standard. However, in general, it’s used mostly by Apple, not windows. I just use “HEIC to JPEG” in the App Store and convert the ones I get sent, works for me.
Similar threads
