What HEIC to PDF does
iPhones and iPads save photos as HEIC, a format most websites, Windows PCs and upload forms cannot open — and certainly not as a PDF page. This tool decodes each HEIC photo in your browser, then places the images into a PDF one per page, in the order you selected them. It combines the HEIC to JPG conversion and the Image to PDF step into one action, and nothing is uploaded.
Why iPhone photos are HEIC
HEIC (HEIF container, HEVC compression) stores a photo at about half the size of a JPG of equal quality and supports Live Photos, depth maps and 10-bit colour. Apple adopted it in iOS 11 to save storage. The trade-off is compatibility: the HEVC codec is patent-encumbered, so free software and Windows lack decoders by default. Converting to a universal format — PDF here — is the practical fix when the photos need to go anywhere outside Apple's ecosystem.
What you get
| Property | Result |
|---|---|
| Pages | One per photo, at the photo's full pixel size |
| Quality | Decoded losslessly to PNG and embedded — no further compression |
| Order | Selection order (usually alphabetical; iPhone names are sequential) |
| Metadata | EXIF including GPS is not carried into the PDF |
| Live Photo video / depth data | Discarded — only the still image is used |
Common uses
- Photographing a paper document with an iPhone and sending it as a PDF to an office, school or government portal.
- Submitting receipts, ID photos or proof-of-address images where PDF is required.
- Compiling a set of photos for a claim, an inspection or a property listing.
- Sharing photos with Windows users who see HEIC files as blank icons.
Tips
- Large HEIC files (48-megapixel ProRAW-derived shots) are memory-hungry to decode; on a phone, convert a few at a time or use a desktop browser.
- The output PDF is large because each page is a lossless image. Run Compress PDF afterwards if it must be emailed.
- To stop the problem at the source, set the iPhone camera to Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible, which shoots JPG.
- Crop document photos first (Image Cropper accepts HEIC in Safari; otherwise convert with HEIC to JPG first).