HEIC, Live Photos, ProRAW — what's preserved

Photo Transfer App transfers photos and videos at their original quality. HEIC, ProRAW and DNG arrive intact, and Live Photos keep their motion when you transfer between phones.

HEIC (iPhone's default photo format)

By default, HEIC photos transfer as HEIC. Modern versions of macOS, Windows 10/11, and Android can all open HEIC natively. If your receiving device or photo viewer can't, you can switch on HEIC → JPG conversion in Photo Transfer App's settings — every HEIC file is then converted to JPG as it's sent. Flickr doesn't accept HEIC, so HEIC photos are always uploaded to Flickr as JPG.

Live Photos and Motion Photos

Between phones, Live Photos keep their motion. Both phones need Photo Transfer App 10.5 or later on iPhone and iPad, or 10.4 or later on Android.

iPhone or iPad to iPhone or iPad: Live Photos arrive as Live Photos.
iPhone to Android: Live Photos arrive as Motion Photos, which Google Photos and most Android gallery apps can play. The photo part is saved as a JPG. To receive only the photo instead, turn off Convert Live Photos to Motion Photos in the Android app's settings.
Android to iPhone: supported Motion Photos arrive as Live Photos. To keep the original file instead, turn off Convert Motion Photos to Live Photos in the iOS app's settings.

Other destinations:

Web browser, cloud backup and network drives: a Live Photo sent from an iPhone arrives as the still photo.
Android Motion Photos sent to a computer, browser, cloud service or network drive arrive as the original file, with the video still inside it.
Windows app: a normal download saves the photo. Choose All Representations from the Download menu to also save the Live Photo's video.

Apple ProRAW

ProRAW photos (from iPhone 12 Pro and later) transfer as full-bit-depth DNG files with all camera metadata intact. The receiving device opens them in Lightroom, Photoshop, Affinity Photo, Capture One, or any RAW-capable photo editor.

DNG and other RAW formats

Standard DNG, ARW (Sony), CR2/CR3 (Canon), NEF (Nikon), and other RAW formats transfer at full bit depth. EXIF metadata, lens info, white balance, color profile — all preserved.

Video formats

MOV, MP4, M4V, MKV, AVI, and other common video formats transfer unmodified. ProRes video (from recent iPhone Pro models) transfers at full bit-rate; receiving devices may need ProRes-capable players (QuickTime on Mac, VLC on any OS).

EXIF metadata

Every transfer preserves the metadata embedded inside each file:

Capture date and time
GPS coordinates (if your phone embedded them)
Camera make and model
Lens, focal length, aperture, shutter, ISO
Color space, white balance, focus mode

When a Live Photo becomes a Motion Photo on Android, the main details — dates, location, camera and exposure settings — are copied into the new file.

What's NOT preserved

Edits / adjustments stored outside the file — iOS Photos lets you crop or apply filters without modifying the original file. Those edits live in Apple's Photos app database, not in the JPG / HEIC. Photo Transfer sends the underlying original, not the edited version. (You can export the edited version yourself from the Photos app and send that.)
iOS Photos albums structure — albums are an iOS feature, not part of the file. Photos arrive at the destination as a flat list (or in your chosen destination folder).