iPhone ProRAW files are large DNG files that capture far more editing latitude than a normal HEIC or JPG — excellent for serious editing, but overkill for everyday sharing. Convert ProRAW to JPG when you want to post, upload, or free up space, and keep the ProRAW original only for the shots you'll actually edit.
What is iPhone ProRAW?
ProRAW is Apple's RAW format on Pro-model iPhones (enable it in Settings → Camera → Formats). It's a DNG file that combines Apple's computational photography with real RAW sensor data, so you get both the polished iPhone look and the full editing latitude of RAW — the best of both, at the cost of much larger files.
Why is my ProRAW file so big — and why won't it upload?
A single ProRAW shot is often 25 MB or more, where a normal HEIC is around 1–3 MB. It's also a DNG, which most apps, websites, and upload forms can't open. That combination — huge and unsupported — is exactly why you convert ProRAW to JPG before sharing it.
Should you shoot ProRAW?
Only for photos you intend to edit. The storage cost is real — a few hundred ProRAW shots fills gigabytes. For everyday snaps, standard HEIC is far smaller and easier to share; see HEIC vs JPG if you're weighing the two.
How to convert iPhone ProRAW to JPG
Because ProRAW is a DNG file, convert DNG to JPG turns it into a shareable image right in your browser — nothing is uploaded, so your photos stay on your device. (Shooting RAW on a regular camera instead? Use RAW to JPG.)
Will converting lose quality?
Converting to JPG bakes in the edit and drops the RAW editing latitude, but the visible photo still looks excellent — the same reasoning in does converting RAW to JPG reduce quality applies to ProRAW. Keep the ProRAW original for anything you plan to re-edit.