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iPhone & iPad: How to change camera format for videos and photos

Running low on storage for your phone but have important data? Maybe you have tons of storage but are importing photos and videos to a device that doesn’t support HEIF or HEVC.

Luckily, there’s an option to change what format your iPhone is taking photos and recording videos in.

iPhone & iPad: How to change camera format for videos and photos

  1. Open Settings > Camera > Formats.
  2. Under Camera Capture, you have two options: High Efficiency, or Most Compatible. Tap on the one you’d like to use.

High Efficiency uses HEIF and HEVC for your photos and videos. These take up less space but may be incompatible with older devices. Most compatible uses the standard JPEG/H.264 formats.

Note: 4K at 60fps and 1080p at 240fps requires High Efficiency to be enabled.

For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:


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