open HEIF and HEVC files in Windows

A few days ago, I wanted to transfer photos from my iPhone to my computer. But it was very annoying that after copying for a while, the process stopped with some errors occured.

After some searching, I found the reason: iPhone automatically transfer photos to JPEG format but the process was not stable. Here is the fix: Settings App -> Photos -> TRANSFER TO MAC OR PC -> choose "Keep Originals" instead of "Automatic".

Then another issue was introduced: iOS used the format HEIF for images (with .HEIC file extention) and HEVC for videos that Windows system did not support initially.

Luckyly, Microsoft provided the official extntions:

• HEIF Image Extensions
• HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer (for free) or HEVC Video Extensions (for $0.99). The first one was not searchable directly from Microsoft Store, and the latter one was searchable but not for free. Some third-party discussions are here and there.

After installing these extentions, I was able to happily view (and preview in File Explorer) my iPhone photos on Windows 10.