World's First: Zoner Photo Studio X Brings HEIF to Microsoft Windows

Released on November, 28th 2017: Jump to step-by-step howto guide

Everyone knows the JPEG format. But by now it’s over 25 years old, and it’s showing. HEIF is a new format that works much better—your photos need much less space to look just as good or better.

So how would it sound to store your photos in less than half the space?

What is HEIF?

The advantage of HEIF over the older JPEG is a significantly smaller file size with comparable quality (or higher quality while keeping the same size). HEIF is, put simply, an image file format in which the picture is encoded using the modern HEVC codec. Thanks to this, it compresses photos superbly.

HEIF is the new default format for new iOS and macOS devices and you can also view it in Google Photos.

Great for photos
Powerful compression (HEVC)
Hardware acceleration
Transparency support
Both lossy and lossless variants

Metadata support
Cropping and rotation support
Standardized format
Efficient storage of series and panoramas

See for Yourself!

We saved these photos to JPEG and HEIF in Zoner Photo Studio X.
Click the picture to dowload the original file.

The picture on the left was stored in JPEG, and the one on the right in HEIF. The quality is similar, but HEIF takes up much less space.

Two similar crops. The one on the left, in JPEG, takes up 365 kB; the one on the right, in HEIF, takes up 215 kB. As you can see, you can’t see a difference.

Left: JPEG. Right: HEIF. Both pictures take up approximately 60kB. The difference in quality is remarkable.

Work with the new HEIF format is the same as with any other format; you just need a program that supports it, such as Zoner Photo Studio X.

I want to try HEIF!

Zoner Photo Studio X is the first Windows photo software to bring support for reading and writing HEIF files. Follow the steps here to view and save your HEIF photos. Please note: Since the HEIF format is rapidly evolving, HEIF file support is experimental. We recommend keeping a backup of your HEIF photos in a separate format.

Hardware and Software Checklist

You have Microsoft Windows 10, specifically version 1703 (build 15063, the Creators Update), version 1709 (build 16299, the Fall Creators Update), or newer.
Your Zoner Photo Studio X is fully up to date and thus includes support for HEIF. This means build 48 or higher. Download Zoner Photo Studio X
In Microsoft Windows 10 Creators Update (version 1703), HEIF support works on all PCs, with no further restrictions.
However, if your Windows 10 has been updated to the Fall Creators Update or newer, then your PC must contain at least one of the following components:
– An Intel Core processor of the 6th or higher generation (Skylake, Kaby Lake, or Coffee Lake)
– A processor with an integrated graphics chip that supports HEVC (e.g. the Iris Pro Graphics 5200)
– A modern graphics card that supports HEVC acceleration.
If your Windows 10 has been updated to the Fall Creators Update or newer, then you must manually download the HEVC Video Extension: Download from Windows Store

Turn on HEIF support in Zoner Photo Studio

Click on your Zoner Account (the email address) at the top right of ZPS, and then click Preferences. The left column of the Preferences window lists the different preference sections. Click Advanced at the bottom of this column. Then in the Advanced settings, turn on HEIF format support.

Troubleshooting show >>>

What is Zoner Photo Studio X?

ZPS X is the best Windows software for your photos. It handles everything from downloading your photos to organizing them to producing breathtaking edits. It can handle layers, non-destructive RAW editing, retouching, and automatic adjustments. It’s no greenhorn! It’s been a reliable aid to photographers for over 20 years. But that doesn’t mean it has nothing new to offer—it’s soon to be the first Windows photo editor to support the HEIF format. And the best part is, you can try it for free!

© 2017 Zoner, Inc. – All images were saved in Zoner Photo Studio X, and a crop from them was then stored in PNG to enable you to compare them on the Web. Zoner Inc., the developer of Zoner Photo Studio X, is not the creator of the HEIF format, nor the HEVC codec. Apple, Mac, and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. IOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries.