How to Change Default Image and Video Formats in iPhone X, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus

Main Image
  • Like
  • Comment
  • Share

New Apple devices- iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 – will be running on the latest iOS 11 software out of the box. Apart from the hardware improvements in the cameras of new iPhones, Apple has also added a photo compression codec on the software side of things to shrinks the size of the images almost by half without compromising on image quality.

Apple manages to achieve this by saving images in HEIF instead of JPEG/JPG and videos in HEVC (H265) instead of MP4 (h264) format. By default, all the iOS 11 running devices will take images/videos in these new formats.

Also Read: 5 Apple iPhone X Features That Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Already Had

What is HEIF and HEVC?

HEIF stands for High-Efficiency Image File Format
  • HEIF compesstion technique losslessly saves images in half of JPG size
HEVC stands for High-Efficiency Video Coding
  • It is an advanced version of Advanced Video Coding (.H264) in lossless quality taking less storage space

There is one problem with these new formats, though. These are not as popular as JPEG and .H264 format. These new codecs are gaining popularity, and in time, will become mainstream. Till then, however, each time you share these images with someone who isn’t using iOS 11 or macOS High Sierra, your images will be converted to older formats.

Well, Apple has given you the option (if in case you are interested) to save videos or images in older JPEGs and MP4 (H264) formats as well. Here’s how you can do it:

Also Read: Top 10 Exciting Pixel 2 And Pixel 2 XL Software Features

Save Photos and Videos in JPG and MP4 in iOS 11

First Step: Go To Settings and tap on Camera settings

Second Step: Tap on ‘Formats’ option under Camera settings

Final Step: Select ‘Most Compatible’ instead of ‘High Efficiency’

Now your iPhone will capture all the images and videos in a general, more popular formats.

One more thing: we just want to point out here is that if you want to shoot videos at 4K with 60FPS or full HD videos at 240FPS you will have to switch back to ‘High Efficiency‘ settings. If you shoot in ‘Most Compatible‘ your iPhone 8, 8Plus and iPhone X will only shoot 4K videos at 30 FPS and 1080p videos at up to 120 FPS.

Change Default Image and Video Formats in iPhone 7, 7Plus

Like the new iPhones, previous generation iPhones which are running on iOS 11 will also capture images in these new efficient file systems by default. You can follow the same steps to change default photos and videos to JPG and MP4 formats from HEIF and HEVC and vice-versa.

Google Pixel 2 XL FAQ: All Your Questions Answered

Deepak RajawatDeepak Rajawat
Experienced technology journalist with over 7-years of experience. Before embracing online journalism, he has worked with several legacy publications including print editions at Hindustan Times and The Statesman. He also has a keen interest in Sports, which he used to cover with equal enthusiasm in his early career.

Related Articles

ImageExclusive: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 360-Degree Video And 5K Renders; Say Hello to Boxy Aesthetics

The Galaxy Z Fold 6, leaks and rumors about the device have been floating around for a while now and yesterday we reported that Samsung might launch the next-generation foldables, Galaxy Ring & Galaxy XR in July. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 was an incremental upgrade over its predecessor and fans now have their fingers …

ImageApple iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Review: Best Smartphones Money Can Buy?

Apple’s iPhone X launched last year ushered in a new, modern iPhone era. This year, Apple went full scale with the design changes and has passed them on to its entire lineup. With features like new 7nm chipset, Smart HDR in camera, class-leading AMOLED screens, and faster iOS 12, the new flag bearers – iPhone …

ImageApple iOS 16 rolls out to all iPhones; Check the new features and eligibility iPhones lists

Later today, the final version of Apple iOS 16 will be made available for iPhones all across the world. Like every year, the new iPhones come with iOS16. Pre-orders for Apple’s newest iPhone 14 series, which will be available in stores on September 16th, are already open (except iPhone 14 Plus). On iPhones with an …

ImageAudio And Video Calls On X (Twitter): How To Initiate, Manage And Change Privacy Settings

Last year, X released audio and video calls for Premium users. However, the microblogging platform has now extended the feature to all X users, irrespective of whether they’re subscribed to X Premium. This is a significant development as it allows X to position itself as a daily communication platform, like WhatsApp and Telegram. All X …

ImageChange Your iPhone Ringtone: Step-by-Step Guide on How to Set a Custom Ringtone on iPhone

If you are bored of the default ringtone on your iPhone and want to try out something new, you are in the right place. Ringtones are basically short audio clips that are supposed to alert you when you are getting a call from someone on your iPhone.  Whether you want to change the default ringtone …

Discuss

1 Comment
User
Julie Pepper
Anonymous
5 years ago

Thank you for this information. I am just starting to dabble with video. Amazing stuff. Codecs.

Reply