File extension

.heic

HEIC (HEVC-coded HEIF image)

.heic files are HEIC images: HEIF files whose images are coded with HEVC (H.265) intra compression, widely produced by iPhones and other cameras as a compact photo format.

Known meanings

Formats and reference material for .heic

HEIC (HEVC-coded HEIF image)

HEIF container holding still images compressed with HEVC (H.265)

  • 2d-graphics
  • MPEG / ISO/IEC
Open link

Details

Format notes

HEIC

HEIC is the common name for HEIF files that store their images with the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC, H.265) codec. The container is defined by ISO/IEC 23008-12 and the HEVC coding by ITU-T H.265 / ISO/IEC 23008-2. The extension .heic distinguishes these files from other HEIF files, such as .avif, that use a different codec. The extensions .heif and .heics (image sequences) are also in use.

Structure

A HEIC file is an ISO base media file format container: it begins with an ftyp box whose major brand is heic (or a related brand such as heix), followed by a meta box that describes image items and, usually, an mdat box with the coded data. Each image is an HEVC intra-coded picture, and a large photo is typically split into a grid of tiles that are combined by a derived image item. A single file may also contain a thumbnail, an alpha or depth auxiliary image, Exif and XMP metadata, and an ICC profile.

Adoption

Apple made HEIC the default capture format in iOS 11 (2017), and the format is also written by many recent Android phones and cameras. It is typically smaller than a JPEG of similar visual quality. Because HEVC is subject to patent licensing, support in web browsers and some operating systems is limited or requires extensions, and photos are often converted to JPEG when shared. Common tools for reading and writing HEIC include libheif and ImageMagick (when built with libheif). The media type is image/heic.

Preservation And Security Notes

HEIC is lossy in normal use, so keep original files rather than repeatedly converting. When converting, check that Exif data, color profiles, and depth maps are preserved or deliberately dropped. Decoders should validate box sizes, tile grids, and dimensions, as malformed HEIF files have caused memory-safety problems in image libraries.

Further Reading

  • Nokia HEIF information: https://nokiatech.github.io/heif/
  • Library of Congress format description: https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000525.shtml