Newer iPhones let you choose between HEIF (the High Efficiency format, saved as .heic) and RAW — specifically Apple ProRAW, saved as .dng. Both produce great photos, but they serve very different purposes. Here’s how to decide.
The quick answer
- Shoot HEIF for everyday photos: family, travel, food, screenshots of life. Files are small, look finished straight away, and share easily.
- Shoot RAW when you plan to edit seriously — tricky light, landscapes, anything where you’ll push highlights, shadows or white balance in Lightroom or Photos.
- Many photographers leave HEIF on and switch to RAW for specific shots.
What’s the difference?
A HEIF photo is a finished image. The iPhone’s processing pipeline — noise reduction, Smart HDR, Deep Fusion, sharpening, tone mapping — has already made its decisions, and the result is compressed with HEVC. For the basics of the format, see What is a HEIC file?
A RAW photo keeps much more of the sensor data. Apple ProRAW is a hybrid: it includes Apple’s computational processing but stores the result as a high-bit-depth, minimally compressed DNG, so you can make big adjustments later without the image falling apart.
HEIF vs RAW comparison
| HEIF (High Efficiency) | Apple ProRAW | |
|---|---|---|
| File type | .heic | .dng |
| Typical size (12 MP) | ~1–3 MB | ~25 MB |
| Typical size (48 MP) | ~3–5 MB (HEIF Max) | ~75 MB |
| Bit depth | 8-bit (10-bit for HDR data) | 12-bit |
| Editing latitude | Moderate | Large |
| Ready to share | Yes (convert to JPG for non-Apple) | Needs editing/export |
| Opens on Windows | With extensions | Yes, in RAW editors |
| Available on | iPhone 7 and later | iPhone 12 Pro and later Pro models |
When HEIF is the better choice
- Storage. You can store ten or more HEIF photos in the space of one ProRAW shot.
- Speed. No editing needed; photos look good straight from the camera.
- Burst and Live Photos. These are built around HEIF.
- Sharing. HEIF converts to a universal JPG in seconds with a tool like our HEIC to JPG converter. RAW needs editing software first.
When RAW is worth it
- High-contrast scenes like sunsets and backlit portraits, where you’ll want to recover highlights.
- Mixed or tricky lighting where you’ll fix white balance afterwards.
- Professional work that goes through Lightroom or Capture One.
- Prints at large sizes, where every bit of detail counts.
If you edit RAW files and then need to deliver them, export as JPG for clients and the web, or as TIFF for print workflows.
How to switch between HEIF and RAW
On a supported Pro iPhone:
- Go to Settings → Camera → Formats.
- Make sure High Efficiency is selected (this keeps HEIF as your default).
- Turn on Apple ProRAW (on newer models, set your preferred resolution under Pro Default or Photo Mode).
- In the Camera app, tap the RAW button to toggle it for individual shots.
If you’d rather avoid both and get plain JPGs, choose Most Compatible instead — the trade-offs are covered in How to turn off HEIC on iPhone.
What about HEIF vs JPEG?
If RAW is overkill and you’re only debating HEIF against JPEG, see HEIC vs JPEG: which should you use? For the technical relationship between HEIF and HEIC, read HEIF vs HEIC.
Converting HEIF photos for sharing or editing
HEIF originals are ideal to keep, but you’ll often need a more compatible copy:
- HEIC to JPG — for sharing and uploads
- HEIC to PNG — lossless, for editing in apps that don’t read HEIC
- HEIC to TIFF — lossless with the color profile, for print and publishing
All three run in your browser, so even large batches stay private.