Anybody knows what is the difference between “old” and “new” HEIC files used by iPhones? I’ve always been able to import and use HEIC shot with the old iPhone 14pro but recently I’ve tried to mass-import a bunch of HEIC shot with a newer iphone (16pro) and they’re not recognized anymore by darktable (Linux).
I’ve tried to have a look at the metadata but I can’t see the problem.
This is the output of exiftool <IMG_iphone14.HEIC>:
ExifTool Version Number : 12.76
File Name : IMG_1659.HEIC
Directory : .
File Size : 1452 kB
File Modification Date/Time : 2026:06:01 15:01:50+02:00
File Access Date/Time : 2026:06:19 09:07:49+02:00
File Inode Change Date/Time : 2026:06:19 09:07:38+02:00
File Permissions : -rw-r--r--
File Type : HEIC
File Type Extension : heic
MIME Type : image/heic
Major Brand : High Efficiency Image Format HEVC still image (.HEIC)
Minor Version : 0.0.0
Compatible Brands : mif1, MiHE, MiPr, miaf, MiHB, heic
Handler Type : Picture
Primary Item Reference : 49
Meta Image Size : 4032x3024
XMP Toolkit : XMP Core 6.0.0
HDR Gain Map Version : 65536
Exif Byte Order : Big-endian (Motorola, MM)
Make : Apple
Camera Model Name : iPhone 14 Pro
Orientation : Horizontal (normal)
X Resolution : 72
Y Resolution : 72
Resolution Unit : inches
Software : 17.4.1
Modify Date : 2024:05:01 11:57:33
Host Computer : iPhone 14 Pro
Exposure Time : 1/10
F Number : 2.2
Exposure Program : Program AE
ISO : 1000
Exif Version : 0232
Date/Time Original : 2024:05:01 11:57:33
Create Date : 2024:05:01 11:57:33
Offset Time : +02:00
Offset Time Original : +02:00
Offset Time Digitized : +02:00
Shutter Speed Value : 1/10
Aperture Value : 2.2
Brightness Value : -3.258205317
Exposure Compensation : -0.195
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Flash : Off, Did not fire
Focal Length : 2.2 mm
Subject Area : 2015 1511 2323 1330
Maker Note Version : 14
Run Time Flags : Valid
Run Time Value : 97140015994833
Run Time Scale : 1000000000
Run Time Epoch : 0
AE Stable : Yes
AE Target : 84
AE Average : 89
AF Stable : Yes
Acceleration Vector : -0.7815064788 -0.08248605578 -0.6093446613
Image Capture Type : Unknown (11)
Live Photo Video Index : 3321921540
HDR Headroom : 0.7432090045
Signal To Noise Ratio : 13.54800987
Photo Identifier : 16F860A9-AB3B-4C73-91E6-4EDE13954696
Focus Position : 47
HDR Gain : 0.02968643607
AF Measured Depth : 49
AF Confidence : 37
Semantic Style : {_0=1,_1=0,_2=0,_3=0}
Front Facing Camera : No
Sub Sec Time Original : 875
Sub Sec Time Digitized : 875
Color Space : Uncalibrated
Exif Image Width : 4032
Exif Image Height : 3024
Sensing Method : One-chip color area
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Exposure Mode : Auto
White Balance : Auto
Focal Length In 35mm Format : 14 mm
Lens Info : 2.22-9mm f/1.779999971-2.8
Lens Make : Apple
Lens Model : iPhone 14 Pro back triple camera 2.22mm f/2.2
Composite Image : Composite Image Captured While Shooting
Composite Image Count : 10 0
Composite Image Exposure Times : 0 1.3 0 1/5 0 1/10 0 0
Profile CMM Type : Apple Computer Inc.
Profile Version : 4.0.0
Profile Class : Display Device Profile
Color Space Data : RGB
Profile Connection Space : XYZ
Profile Date Time : 2022:01:01 00:00:00
Profile File Signature : acsp
Primary Platform : Apple Computer Inc.
CMM Flags : Not Embedded, Independent
Device Manufacturer : Apple Computer Inc.
Device Model :
Device Attributes : Reflective, Glossy, Positive, Color
Rendering Intent : Perceptual
Connection Space Illuminant : 0.9642 1 0.82491
Profile Creator : Apple Computer Inc.
Profile ID : ecfda38e388547c36db4bd4f7ada182f
Profile Description : Display P3
Profile Copyright : Copyright Apple Inc., 2022
Media White Point : 0.96419 1 0.82489
Red Matrix Column : 0.51512 0.2412 -0.00105
Green Matrix Column : 0.29198 0.69225 0.04189
Blue Matrix Column : 0.1571 0.06657 0.78407
Red Tone Reproduction Curve : (Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Chromatic Adaptation : 1.04788 0.02292 -0.0502 0.02959 0.99048 -0.01706 -0.00923 0.01508 0.75168
Blue Tone Reproduction Curve : (Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Green Tone Reproduction Curve : (Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)
HEVC Configuration Version : 1
General Profile Space : Conforming
General Tier Flag : Main Tier
General Profile IDC : Main Still Picture
Gen Profile Compatibility Flags : Main Still Picture, Main 10, Main
Constraint Indicator Flags : 176 0 0 0 0 0
General Level IDC : 90 (level 3.0)
Min Spatial Segmentation IDC : 0
Parallelism Type : 0
Chroma Format : 4:2:0
Bit Depth Luma : 8
Bit Depth Chroma : 8
Average Frame Rate : 0
Constant Frame Rate : Unknown
Num Temporal Layers : 1
Temporal ID Nested : No
Image Width : 4032
Image Height : 3024
Image Spatial Extent : 4032x3024
Rotation : 0
Image Pixel Depth : 8 8 8
Auxiliary Image Type : urn:com:apple:photo:2020:aux:hdrgainmap
Media Data Size : 1447464
Media Data Offset : 4686
Run Time Since Power Up : 1 days 2:59:00
Aperture : 2.2
Image Size : 4032x3024
Megapixels : 12.2
Scale Factor To 35 mm Equivalent: 6.3
Shutter Speed : 1/10
Create Date : 2024:05:01 11:57:33.875+02:00
Date/Time Original : 2024:05:01 11:57:33.875+02:00
Modify Date : 2024:05:01 11:57:33+02:00
Circle Of Confusion : 0.005 mm
Field Of View : 104.3 deg
Focal Length : 2.2 mm (35 mm equivalent: 14.0 mm)
GPS Position : 45 deg 27' 9.62" N, 9 deg 9' 39.88" E
Hyperfocal Distance : 0.47 m
Light Value : 2.3
Lens ID : iPhone 14 Pro back triple camera 2.22mm f/2.2
and this from exiftool <IMG_iphone16.HEIC>:
ExifTool Version Number : 12.76
File Name : IMG_8779.HEIC
Directory : .
File Size : 1499 kB
File Modification Date/Time : 2026:06:09 13:56:54+02:00
File Access Date/Time : 2026:06:19 09:07:55+02:00
File Inode Change Date/Time : 2026:06:19 09:07:40+02:00
File Permissions : -rw-r--r--
File Type : HEIC
File Type Extension : heic
MIME Type : image/heic
Major Brand : High Efficiency Image Format HEVC still image (.HEIC)
Minor Version : 0.0.0
Compatible Brands : mif1, MiHB, MiHA, heix, MiHE, MiPr, miaf, heic, tmap
Handler Type : Picture
Primary Item Reference : 49
Meta Image Size : 4032x3024 0 1029 2880 2160 0 515 2016 1512 0 0 64 0 0 15 16960 23 65159 15 16960 65535 65412 15 16960 23 65159 15 16960 8 61650 15 16960 0 10 15 16960 0 10 15 16960
XMP Toolkit : XMP Core 6.0.0
Semantic Segmentation Matte Version: 65536
HDR Gain Map Version : 131072
HDR Gain Map Headroom : 2.974169
Exif Byte Order : Big-endian (Motorola, MM)
Make : Apple
Camera Model Name : iPhone 16 Pro
Orientation : Rotate 90 CW
X Resolution : 72
Y Resolution : 72
Resolution Unit : inches
Software : 26.5
Modify Date : 2026:05:31 08:01:32
Host Computer : iPhone 16 Pro
Exposure Time : 1/60
F Number : 2.2
Exposure Program : Program AE
ISO : 640
Exif Version : 0232
Date/Time Original : 2026:05:31 08:01:32
Create Date : 2026:05:31 08:01:32
Offset Time : +02:00
Offset Time Original : +02:00
Offset Time Digitized : +02:00
Shutter Speed Value : 1/60
Aperture Value : 2.2
Brightness Value : 0.9064451265
Exposure Compensation : -0.669
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Flash : Off, Did not fire
Focal Length : 2.2 mm
Subject Area : 2002 1511 2218 1328
Maker Note Version : 16
Run Time Flags : Valid
Run Time Value : 336131060624791
Run Time Scale : 1000000000
Run Time Epoch : 0
AE Stable : Yes
AE Target : 115
AE Average : 150
AF Stable : Yes
Acceleration Vector : 0.04347050561 -0.9922513962 -0.06272149833
Content Identifier : 3FC9C215-A8EE-4C6E-ABA6-6FB41802B26A
Image Capture Type : Unknown (12)
Live Photo Video Index : 4235300
HDR Headroom : 1.00999999
Signal To Noise Ratio : 21.61599351
Photo Identifier : 03A82FCF-F7EF-401A-A527-2FDFDEB6013C
Focus Position : 43
HDR Gain : 2.410793303
AF Measured Depth : 151
AF Confidence : 100
Front Facing Camera : No
Sub Sec Time Original : 680
Sub Sec Time Digitized : 680
Color Space : Uncalibrated
Exif Image Width : 4032
Exif Image Height : 3024
Sensing Method : One-chip color area
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Exposure Mode : Auto
White Balance : Auto
Focal Length In 35mm Format : 14 mm
Lens Info : 2.220000029-15.65999985mm f/1.779999971-2.8
Lens Make : Apple
Lens Model : iPhone 16 Pro back triple camera 2.22mm f/2.2
Composite Image : General Composite Image
Profile CMM Type : Apple Computer Inc.
Profile Version : 4.0.0
Profile Class : Display Device Profile
Color Space Data : RGB
Profile Connection Space : XYZ
Profile Date Time : 2022:01:01 00:00:00
Profile File Signature : acsp
Primary Platform : Apple Computer Inc.
CMM Flags : Not Embedded, Independent
Device Manufacturer : Apple Computer Inc.
Device Model :
Device Attributes : Reflective, Glossy, Positive, Color
Rendering Intent : Perceptual
Connection Space Illuminant : 0.9642 1 0.82491
Profile Creator : Apple Computer Inc.
Profile ID : 0
Profile Description : Display P3
Profile Copyright : Copyright Apple Inc., 2022
Media White Point : 0.96419 1 0.82489
Red Matrix Column : 0.51512 0.2412 -0.00105
Green Matrix Column : 0.29198 0.69225 0.04189
Blue Matrix Column : 0.1571 0.06657 0.78407
Red Tone Reproduction Curve : (Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Chromatic Adaptation : 1.04788 0.02292 -0.0502 0.02959 0.99048 -0.01706 -0.00923 0.01508 0.75168
Blue Tone Reproduction Curve : (Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Green Tone Reproduction Curve : (Binary data 32 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Image Width : 4032
Image Height : 3024
Image Spatial Extent : 4032x3024
Rotation : 270
Image Pixel Depth : 8 8 8
Auxiliary Image Type : urn:com:apple:photo:2020:aux:semanticskymatte
A To B0 : (Binary data 19478 bytes, use -b option to extract)
B To A0 : (Binary data 6412 bytes, use -b option to extract)
Color Profiles : nclx
Color Primaries : Unspecified
Transfer Characteristics : Unspecified
Matrix Coefficients : Unspecified
Video Full Range Flag : 1
HEVC Configuration Version : 1
General Profile Space : Conforming
General Tier Flag : Main Tier
General Profile IDC : Main Still Picture
Gen Profile Compatibility Flags : Main Still Picture, Main 10, Main
Constraint Indicator Flags : 176 0 0 0 0 0
General Level IDC : 63 (level 2.1)
Min Spatial Segmentation IDC : 0
Parallelism Type : 0
Chroma Format : 4:2:0
Bit Depth Luma : 8
Bit Depth Chroma : 8
Average Frame Rate : 0
Constant Frame Rate : Unknown
Num Temporal Layers : 1
Temporal ID Nested : No
Media Data Size : 1464436
Media Data Offset : 35017
Run Time Since Power Up : 3 days 21:22:11
Aperture : 2.2
Image Size : 4032x3024
Megapixels : 12.2
Scale Factor To 35 mm Equivalent: 6.3
Shutter Speed : 1/60
Create Date : 2026:05:31 08:01:32.680+02:00
Date/Time Original : 2026:05:31 08:01:32.680+02:00
Modify Date : 2026:05:31 08:01:32+02:00
Circle Of Confusion : 0.005 mm
Field Of View : 104.3 deg
Focal Length : 2.2 mm (35 mm equivalent: 14.0 mm)
GPS Position : 45 deg 25' 17.36" N, 9 deg 15' 49.06" E
Hyperfocal Distance : 0.47 m
Light Value : 5.5
Lens ID : iPhone 16 Pro back triple camera 2.22mm f/2.2