Apple dumps JPEG in iOS 11

First the 30-pin charging cable, then DVD drives, and headphone jacks. In Apple’s view, they all had to go! But their latest attempt to shake things up is all centred around their dumping of one of the oldest digital image file formats – the good old JPEG, an acronym for the Joint Photographic Experts Group, which created the standard. Now 25 years old, the JPEG will no longer be the file format of choice going forward on Apple’s next version of the operating system for iPhone, iOS 11, as reported at Apple’s annual developers’ conference, WWDC 2017.

The new alternative, HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) is based on the H.265 video format. Advanced compression methods allow for smaller files while retaining the same degree of quality as a JPEG, and the creators of HEIF, the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), claims that the new format will store twice as much data, but take up no more of the device’s memory.

So what does this mean for you? Well, given that space on iPhones is sometimes at a premium, you should be able to store twice as many images before you run out of space. (Maybe one day Apple will discover the concept of storage expansion and allow consumers to supplement things with a micro-USB card. We won’t be holding our breath.) When you want to share images with those not on iPhone or on social media, the device will simply convert files to JPEG. But just in case you were wondering, HEIF is not currently supported by Photoshop or any web browsers.

Nokia has some examples of just how much more punch HEIF packs. Check it out on their website.