Convert HEIF to PNG

HEIF → PNG — formats compared

About HEIF

HEIF is the underlying ISO image container (MPEG-H Part 12); HEIC is simply its HEVC-coded variant, so the two are decoded the same way. It is a modern, space-efficient format that can also carry transparency and multiple images in one file.

About PNG

PNG is a lossless raster format with a full alpha (transparency) channel, so it reproduces sharp edges, flat colour and text pixel-for-pixel with no compression artefacts.

What changes in this conversion

Transparency is preserved where it exists, since both HEIF and PNG support an alpha channel — though a normal iPhone camera photo has none to carry over. HEIF is decoded once and then saved losslessly as PNG, so no extra compression is added on top — but PNG can't undo the original lossy compression, and the file is typically much larger.

When to convert HEIF → PNG

Converting HEIF to PNG gives you a lossless, universally editable file with transparency intact — useful when you need to retouch the image or hand it to a tool that won't accept HEIF.

Worth knowing: The PNG preserves exactly what the decoded HEIF contains but can't restore detail its lossy compression already lost, and it's usually a much larger file than the HEIF.