They’re reformatted to jpg when uploaded to cloud storage. This should tell you everything you need to know. https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/photo-video/open-heic-windows-3664186/

Well I see android P will have this too. I really hope in the future I am not forced to have my photos in this format after I take take them then have to convert to JPEG. Most times I email them right from my phone and my email app gives me the option to resize before sending.

I believe while there may be matters concerning different file format types that an operating system may be called on to support, what format is used is usually determined by the app or software that captures the image, not the operating system.

As I understand it, this new image file type produces better resolution in smaller compressed files, compared to the jpg format. The discussion is a good reminder that images people want to keep shouldn't be left on a phone anyway and once transferred to a medium, the file size shouldn't be as relevant.

Like Elmer says, it sounds like a much better format than jpg. And Windows will soon support it. When that happens, you’re better off leaving them as is than trying to convert.

Thanks, Steve and Elmer. I think what I installed is an automatic converter. I just took a picture with my iPhone7+ and when it showed up on iPhoto, it was a JPG file. I might want to uninstall it, if my computer can read the HEIC images. I have several older computers, running Windows 7, so I need to find that converter program again.

I don't keep images directly in my phone. They are saved to memory card in my phone then after I send them I have a USB C flash drive for my phone and they get transferred to that. Some get left on Google and Verizon cloud since that's where they auto back up to. Much easier than taking the case off to get at the memory card to use a flash drive for my phone. That's another problem is phone ports. Our Samsung tablets have the micro ports while our phones have the newer USB C ports so we need 2 different charging plugs. A lot of people I know are not on Windows 10 yet. Mary

Mary, I use an app called "Sweet Home" on my Galaxies that automatically backs my pictures up to my NAS when my phone connects to my home wifi. No need to monkey with any cords/wires.

I never use cords or wires to connect any of my mobile devices. Both my computers have Bluetooth as well as my mobile devices. Photos transfer very fast over bluetooth for me and connect right up. For larger videos on my phone I use the flash drive. Transfers to that faster than Bluetooth. My tablets the memory card is much easier to get at so don't need the micro flash drive. The one for my phone wad only $16.99 for 32gig. Such a handy little device for the price. Mary

I use a USB cord to connect our phones to a PC for various tasks. An Android phone and all its memory nooks and crannies, whether on board or on a card, is recognized as a regular external drive and so file manipulation is familiar and easy. I move files back and forth, whether audio files on or off, photos on or off. There's no need to open the phone to remove a card.

I believe there is PC software available for this new image file format, so the Win version isn't a factor. As I said above, it's an app/program issue, not an operating system one.

I love Bluetooth because if I am upstairs and need to send a file to the computer downstairs no cord hooking is needed. I also don't get why most people I know are not liking windows 10. I am 54 and I really know nothing about computers but I find windows 10 easy to use and am not having any problems. Only thing I regret is the new canon camera I got last year I got wifi instead of Bluetooth. It was a little fidgety at first transferring with the wifi and the canon app but I think I have it down now, don't really need to use that a whole lot anyway. I was in a rush to get it before vacation so didn't want to order the next model up with the Bluetooth and wait. Mary

I have set up my iPhones to send all photos to Cloud. I have iCloud set up on my PC so I see them there, no need to fiddle with cords anymore either. As long as the files are identical to those on the phone, then I'm OK. I do download them to my PC also incase my iCloud gets full.

Google photos works the same way.

I have a Canon camera with Wifi too. I've never turned it on, it's a capability that's not of value to me. I find photos easy to unload by either using a USB cord (one of the standard sizes, any one works) or from the card, which I swap out anyway and access when removing the battery to charge.

I've shared my view before, I think Win 10 is really not different at all from prior versions. It acts the same, it looks the same (since they changed the tile view, though that was always easy to avoid by using one of the simple add-ons like Classic Shell or Power 8). It's maybe a bit better in recovering resources and a bit more stable. Otherwise, very similar to its predecessors.

If I need to get photos from camera to phone and I am not near my computer but have Wi-Fi is what I use it for or I can upload right to social media right away for family. Anything I can't find in 10 I just type in the search and usually find it. I actually like 10 the best, never had 8 though. Mary

So it's useful for you. We don't do social media or right away photos within the family. What do you have with that kind of urgency?

I guess when there's something that's informational (rather than photogenic) to pass along, and it's usually on a one to one basis, we all tend to just use our phone cameras. Less resolution but adequate quality. Image quality uploaded by users to sharing sites gets scaled down on many sites anyway.

For one thing before my. 91 yr old Mom passed it was a way to share what she was doing in the nursing home. Sometimes I would be there quite a few hours before I got home to my computer. He brother and sisters live a few ststes away and couldnt get here to visit. Sometimes I would do a live feed from my phone when she was participating in things and a lot of times we would Skype since my brothers live far and couldn't be here every day like me. She loved meeting her 2 great grand daughters on Skype. This was all a blessing to have at the end of her life. Mary

I'm not sure what Skype video calling using a smartphone has to do with what we were talking about but sure, doing so is very convenient. We do the very same thing with our own kids and grandkids though most often with an iPad. All work well as do other software alternatives like WhatsApp or the Apple Universe-centric Facetime