How to Convert HEIC Images to PNG on iPhone the Easy Way

HEIC is the default photo format on the iPhone for good reason. It only uses half the file size of a JPEG image and saves a ton of storage. But it is not compatible with various devices and websites. So, of course, there comes a time when you just have to convert at least some of your captures to a more widely used format.

We already have a guide on converting HEIC images to JPG format. The conversion process is as simple as copying and pasting the images into the Files application. But what about the PNG format? Not as simple.

If you want to convert your photos from HEIC to PNG, you can use one of the many online conversion tools or applications. But they pose problems for your privacy and are quite inconvenient to use as well.

That’s why I’m going to talk about a method that only uses your iPhone to perform HEIC to PNG conversions.

Create a HEIC shortcut to JPG

To convert HEIC images to PNG format using your iPhone, you need to create a shortcut using the Shortcuts application. If the Shortcuts app is not installed, you can get it from the App Store.

Now, creating the shortcut doesn’t require you to do anything crazy. As long as you follow the steps below, it only takes a few minutes to add and modify the actions necessary to convert the images.

Once you have created the shortcut, it can convert images individually and you can also use it to process HEIC images in batches. So consider the time well spent.

Note: Before getting started, I recommend creating a new album in the Photos app, which you can then specify as the output destination for the PNG images converted when the shortcut was created.

Step 1: Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone.

2nd step: Switch to the My Shortcuts tab, then tap Create Shortcut. On the New Shortcut screen that appears, tap “Search for apps and actions” at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3: Find and add the actions listed below in the following order:

• Select photos
• Convert image
• Save to photo album

Point: After adding an action, tap “Search apps and actions” at the bottom of the screen to instantly start searching for the next action.

Step 4: Make the following changes to the actions you just added:

• Select photos – expand the action and activate the switch next to Select multiple
• Convert photos to JPEG – change the output format from JPEG to PNG
• Save images converted to recent – specify a destination album (in this case, I selected an album named PNG).

After that tap on Next.

Step 5: Add a name for the shortcut, such as HEIC to PNG. Tap Done.

That’s it. The shortcut is active and ready to use.

HEIC to PNG shortcut in action

To start converting HEIC images to PNG format, press the shortcut you just created via the Shortcuts app. It is listed in the My Shortcuts tab.

Alternatively, you can run it via the Shortcuts widget in the Today view, or by activating Siri and saying, “Hey Siri, “.

In the image selector that appears, go to an album and select the photo or photos to convert; you can select as many photos as you want.

Once you’ve selected the image or images, tap Done.

Our shortcut mosaic in the Shortcuts app fills up as you go through each step of the conversion process. Very useful when converting many images.

Once the shortcut has converted all the selected files, you can find the PNG images in the relevant Photos application album, or under the Recent album or the All Photos tab if you have not specified output album when creating the shortcut.

Note: The shortcut will not replace HEIC originals with converted PNG images. If you want to delete the original images, you have to do it manually.

If you want to confirm the output file format, copy and paste one of the converted images to a location in the Files application. Once you’ve done that, long press the image, then press Info to check the file format.

As long as you have correctly added and changed the actions in the shortcut, you should have no problem converting HEIC images to PNG format. If necessary, you can always modify a poorly constructed shortcut by pressing the horizontal ellipsis symbol on the shortcut thumbnail.

Start conversion

Converting HEIC images to PNG becomes ridiculously easy once you’ve created this simple shortcut. So the next time you can’t use your HEIC photos for compatibility reasons, you now know what to do.

The downside – converted PNG images can occupy a ridiculous amount of storage space (sometimes several times the size of HEIC originals). If storage is an issue, you should look for better options.