iOS 11 comes with several new features that have proven to be quite popular, but there are a few changes that haven’t gone down too well among many long-time iPhone users. One of those is the switch from JPG to HEIF as the default file format for images and MP4 to HEVC as the default format for videos. While the newer formats offer up to 2X better compression without reducing image quality, they are not yet as widely supported as the older formats. So in case you want to stick to the more compatible JPG and MP4 formats for the time being, here’s how you can change the defaults in iOS 11:
Save Photos and Videos in JPG and MP4 in iOS 11
- First off, go over to ‘Camera’ on your iPhone’s Settings and tap on it for more options. Now, select ‘Formats’ on the next screen.
- Here, you’ll see that ‘High Efficiency’ is selected as the default option. Just tap on ‘Most Compatible’ to change the default, and that’s it! From now on, all your photos and videos will be saved as JPEGs and MP4s respectively.
Note: Do remember that you will not be able to record 4K videos at 60 FPS or 1080p videos at 240 FPS if you change the default settings. You’ll still be able to record 4K videos at 30 FPS and 1080p videos at up to 120 FPS, but if you want 240 FPS super slo-mo, you’ll be restricted to 720p HD.
SEE ALSO: How to Hide App Icons in iMessage on iOS 11
Change Default Image and Video Formats in iOS 11
While saving photos and videos in the JPG and MP4 formats will take up a bit more space in your iPhones or iPads, you can rest easy knowing that they will be compatible with just about any operating system, photo viewer, and media player out-of-the-box. While codecs for the newer file formats are now fairly widely available across platforms, it will take a while for most mainstream users to download them on their systems, which is why it makes a lot of sense to stick to the tried and tested formats for the time being. So are you looking to change the default file formats for photos and videos on your iPhones? Do let us know about your thoughts in the comment section below, because we love hearing from you.
