HEIC and TIFF explained
HEIC is the container Apple uses for photos taken on iPhone since iOS 11, holding images compressed with HEVC. It stores roughly the same visual quality as JPEG in about half the space, and can hold extras such as depth maps and Live Photo frames.
TIFF is a flexible container used in print, publishing and archiving. It can hold multiple pages, layers, and a variety of compression schemes including none at all, which is why TIFF files vary enormously in size.
- Where HEIC files come from
- Every iPhone photo taken since 2017, unless the camera format was changed to “Most Compatible”.
- Where TIFF is used
- Scanners, professional photography workflows, and print production.