HEIC and JPG files

Perhaps you are referring to this article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207022#working

HEIC and HEVC are great for saving storage in iCloud and on iOS devices, like iPhones or iPads. But on the Mac they will require extra storage.

Even if you can avoid importing of an additional JPEG version from your iPhone or iPad by switching from My Photo Stream to iCloud Photo Library, the Mac will store additional versions as previews for the Media Browser in your user library.

For each and every HEIC image or HEVC video, there I´will be an additional JPEG or MOV stored in the folder /Users/<username>/Library/Containers/com.apple.MediaLibraryService/Data/Library /Caches/com.apple.iLifeMediaBrowser.ILPhotosTranscodeCache/

Even if your Photos Library is on an external drive, this folder will eat up storage on your system drive.

But I import all new photos and videos to my library in HEIC and HEVC format nevertheless.

kentmcpherson wrote:

Do I need the JPG if I have the HEIC file?

In theory no, except there seems be be little in the way of software support for opening these new format files whereas jpeg support has been around for decades.

Where are you seeing the two files? are you looking into Photos Library using the Finder?

Photos is usually storing two files for each image - the original image file, that never will be modified (the HEIC file you are seeing for your iPhone photos, and a preview of the edited version of the photo, and this will be a JPEG file. It might be called something like fullsizeoutput_1a5f2.jpeg, if the photo has been edited in a photo editing extension.

The preview of the edited version is needed for the Media Browser, so other applications can us the photo, and if the photo has been edited in an external editor or a photo editing extension, the jpeg version is essential, because Photos cannot recreate the edits done in the external editor.

No, it's in the Photos app on MacOS under Photos/Moments view.

Then you may have imported the photo from your iPhone twice - once by importing via My Photo stream, and once by importing by a USB connection. Photos saved to the camera roll from shared albums may have cryptic filenames. If you reimported photos saved from shares albums, the JPEGS should have a smaller pixel size.

Have you been importing photos from your iPhone by connecting it to a USB port? Or are you solely using My Photo Stream or iCloud Photo Library.

I wonder whether you have set up the camera settings &gt; photo &gt; transfer to PC or Mac and choose "Automatic". If you did it, you will get a JPG image as well when sync all HEIC images to your Mac.

However, this function can be effective only for the image that saved at a later time. For the existing HEIC images, you can only take the aid of heic to jpg converter portable tool.

Should is an opinion not a fact - what you "should" do is what fits your personal needs

Right now there are few advantages in using HEIC on your Mac since each photo has a JPEG preview too but is is helpful on up to date IOS devices and over time should become more widely supported - I personally use it looking to the future, what you "should do" depends on your situation what you think is going to happen with the format

LN