HEIC to WebP on Mac
Finder's Convert Image quick action writes JPEG, PNG, or HEIF, and Preview's Export dialog adds TIFF, PDF, JPEG 2000, HEIC, and OpenEXR, so a HEIC bound for the web usually takes two steps in two apps: to JPEG natively, then to WebP somewhere else, with a lossy pass at each step. Press decodes the HEIC once and encodes WebP directly, so the picture is compressed twice in total rather than three times.
- Drop the HEIC files onto Press.
- Under Image, choose WebP and set Quality: 80 to 85 percent for photos, 100 for lossless.
- Click Convert. Each file is written as name (Press).webp beside the source.
What you get
- Container
- A .webp beside the HEIC.
- Codec
- WebP through libwebp, lossy below 100 percent and lossless at 100.
- Quality
- One lossy generation on top of the HEIC instead of two.
- Metadata
- EXIF, including location, is not copied. Orientation is baked into the pixels, and no color profile is embedded.
Why not go through JPEG?
Each lossy encode discards detail. Going straight from HEIC to WebP skips one.
Can I set a maximum size at the same time?
Yes. The Max size field applies to every image target; type 2048 and the long edge comes out at 2048 pixels.
Is this free?
WebP output is a Press Pro feature. JPEG, PNG, and HEIC output are free.
Press converts video and images on your Mac. The download is free, and Press Pro is a one-time $14.99 unlock for batch conversion, size presets, and WebP.