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What Are HEIF and HEIC and Why is Apple Using Them?

Apple adopted a brand new commonplace image format referred to as HEIF (High potency Image Format) in 2017. It’s business its use of that file format ‘HEIC’ and, with iOS eleven, replaced the file format referred to as JPEG (pronounced Jay-Peg) with HEIF and also the corresponding HEIC (High potency Image Container).

Here’s why it matters: the format stores pictures in higher quality whereas usurping a lot of less space for storing.

Images Before HEIF

Developed in 1992, the JPEG format was a good success for what it had been, however it had been engineered at a time once computers simply weren’t as capable as they’re nowadays.

HEIF is predicated on advanced video compression technology developed by the show specialists cluster, HVEC (also referred to as H.265). That’s why it’s capable of carrying such a lot data.

How HEIF Applies To You

Here’s wherever HEIF applies to the important world: the camera within the iPhone seven will capture 10-bit color data, however the JPEG format will solely capture colourise 8-bit. That primarily suggests that the HEIF format supports transparency and may handle pictures in 16-bit. and find this: the HEIF image is around fifty p.c smaller than the identical image saved in JPEG format. That compressed image suggests that you must be ready to store double as several pictures on your iPhone or different iOS device.

Another huge advantage is that HEIF will carry many totally different types of data.

While JPEG will carry the information that includes one image, HEIF will carry each single pictures and sequences of them—it acts sort of a instrumentation. you’ll be able to store multiple pictures, and may additionally place audio, depth of field data, image thumbnails and different data in there.

How will Apple Use HEIC?

This use of HEIC as a instrumentation for pictures, videos, and image-related data suggests that Apple will give some thought to doing rather more along with your iOS cameras and pictures.

Apple’s iPhone 7’s Portrait Mode may be a exemplar of however the corporate may work with this. Portrait Mode captures multiple versions of a picture and stitches them along to make far better portraits at a way higher quality than JPEG.

The capability to hold depth of field data within the HEIC image instrumentation could modify Apple to use the compressed format as a part of the increased reality technologies it’s performing on.

“The line between photos and videos is blurred, and lots of what we tend to capture may be a combination of each of those assets,” aforesaid Apple’s VP code, Sebastien Marineau-Mes at WWDC.

How Do HEIF and HEIC Work?

Mac and iOS users putting in iOS eleven and macOS Sierra Nevada can mechanically be moved to the new image format, however solely the pictures they capture once they upgrade are going to be unbroken during this new format.

All your older pictures are going to be hold on in their existing image format.

When it involves sharing pictures, Apple’s devices can merely convert HEIF photos into JPEGs. you must not notice this transcoding occur.

This is as a result of Apple has provided HVEC video commonplace within iPhone and iPad hardware since it 1st introduced those merchandise. iPads, the iPhone eight series and iPhone X will write in code and decipher pictures within the video format nearly instantly. it’s the identical once handling HEIC.

This means that once you email a picture, send it with associate iMessage, or simply work thereon in associate app that doesn’t possess HEIF support, your device can quietly convert it to JPEG in time period and move it to HEIC.

As iOS and macOS users migrate to the new format you may see a lot of and a lot of pictures carrying the .heif file name extension, that signifies they’re saved within the format.

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