Today’s Question: Many of my iPhone photos are HEIC files. Once I use Bridge to download these to my PC as JPEG files, is there any reason to keep the HEIC files? I also notice there are some AAE files, which I think are created if I edit a photo on iPhone. I don’t seem to be able to convert these to JPEGs. Is there any reason to keep these AAE files on my PC after I’ve downloaded the HEIC files to my PC as JPEGs?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Unless you’re dealing with a compatibility issue with HEIC files, I recommend keeping the photos in the HEIC format rather than converting to JPEG images. HEIC files are smaller than JPEG files while providing better image quality. The AAE files are sidecar files that accompany image files that had been edited, and those are only useful within the Apple Photos ecosystem. Therefore, you can most likely simply discard those AAE files unless you want to access the edits that had been applied.
More Detail: The HEIC capture format provides greater image quality with a smaller file size compared to JPEG, and therefore I recommend using the HEIC format rather than converting to JPEG (or capturing in JPEG in the first place). The only reason to use JPEG is if you are having issues with software not supporting HEIC files. The Adobe suite of imaging applications supports HEIC files, as do many other applications, so I recommend retaining the HEIC files without converting.
The AAE files are the equivalent of the XMP sidecar files many photographers are familiar with in the context of editing proprietary raw captures with software such as Camera Raw or Lightroom Classic. They contain the metadata updates related to edits you applied, such as if you adjusted photos on your iPhone.
Those AAE files are not images, but rather just metadata containers, which is why they can’t be converted to JPEG images (or other image formats). To access the edit information contained in the AAE files you would need to bring the source files (both the original capture and the AAE file) into the Apple Photos ecosystem. If you’re not using the Apple Photos ecosystem after downloading photos, you can simply discard the AAE files.
