Convert AVIF to PNG on iPhone, Free and On-Device

You saved an icon, a logo, or a graphic from a website and it came down as an.avif with a transparent background. You need it as something more universal, but the moment you convert to JPG that transparent background turns solid white. That’s the wrong conversion for this file. Here’s the right one.

Why PNG, not JPG, for this file

AVIF supports an alpha channel, meaning parts of the image can be genuinely transparent rather than filled with a background colour. JPG doesn’t support transparency at all, so converting an AVIF with a transparent background to JPG bakes in a solid white (or black) fill where the transparency was, permanently.

PNG is also lossless and also supports transparency, which makes it the direct equivalent for this kind of file: logos, icons, screenshots with cutouts, graphics meant to sit on top of other content.

If the image is a photo with no transparency to preserve, JPG is usually the better target since it’s smaller. We cover that version separately in converting AVIF to JPG on iPhone. This post is specifically for when transparency (or lossless quality) actually matters.

Check the file first

Open it in the Files app before doing anything else. If it previews correctly, the image data is intact and any method below will work. A grey placeholder means the download was incomplete, no converter fixes that, you need to re-save the original.

The fastest route: convert from the share sheet

1. Open Files or Photos and find the AVIF.
2. Tap the share icon.
3. Scroll the actions list and tap Grabio.
4. Choose the PNG tool.
5. Save the result to Photos or Files.

Grabio is a free iOS Shortcut, no App Store install, no account, no paid tier. If it doesn’t show in your share sheet the first time, scroll to the bottom of the actions list, tap Edit Actions, and pin it so it’s near the top going forward. Everything happens on your phone, the file is never uploaded anywhere.

The build-it-yourself route with Shortcuts

1. Open Shortcuts, tap the plus to create a new shortcut.
2. Add the Convert Image action and set the format to PNG.
3. Add Save to Photo Album or Save File.
4. In the shortcut’s settings, turn on Show in Share Sheet.
5. Name it and tap Done.

Unlike converting to JPEG, there’s no quality slider to worry about here, PNG is lossless regardless of settings. The tradeoff is file size: a PNG of a photo-like image will be considerably larger than the same image as a JPEG, since PNG can’t throw away detail to save space the way a lossy format can.

Confirm the transparency actually survived

After converting, check the result. Open the new PNG in Files and view it, if the original had a transparent background, it should still look transparent (Files’ Quick Look shows a checkerboard pattern behind transparent areas).

If it looks like it has a solid white background where you expected transparency, the original AVIF may not have had real transparency to begin with, some AVIFs are just standard opaque images despite the format’s alpha-channel capability. That’s not a conversion failure, it’s the source file.

Avoiding the problem next time

When you save an image from Safari, the option you tap changes what you get. “Save to Files” keeps the original file exactly as the server sent it, extension and all, which is how you end up with a raw.avif. “Add to Photos” tends to give you something the rest of iOS treats more normally.

If you’re about to save a batch of graphics for a project, test one first and see which save option gives you a usable file before doing all fifty.

Getting set up for next time

If you deal with odd image formats even occasionally, having a converter sitting in the share sheet turns this from a whole side-quest into two taps. Get the shortcut, it’s free, no login, and there’s no upgrade prompt waiting for you later.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my converted PNG look bigger than the original AVIF?

Because PNG is lossless and AVIF’s whole design goal is smaller files at similar quality. Going from a heavily-optimized AVIF to lossless PNG will almost always increase file size, sometimes a lot. That’s the tradeoff for guaranteed transparency and no further quality loss.

Should I convert to PNG or JPG?

PNG if the image has (or needs) transparency, or if it’s a graphic with sharp edges and text where you don’t want compression artifacts. JPG if it’s a photo with a solid background and file size matters more than pixel-perfect fidelity.

Can iPhone open AVIF files without converting them?

Yes, Safari has displayed AVIF since Safari 16 and Quick Look in Files previews them on current iPhones. The problem only shows up once you try to use the file somewhere that hasn’t added AVIF support, older uploaders, some Windows software, plenty of email clients.

Does this work for a batch of AVIF files at once?

Yes, if you use the Shortcuts route with “Select Photos” or “Select Files” instead of a single image, and run the Convert Image action, it processes every file selected in one run.

Is there any quality loss converting AVIF to PNG?

None from the PNG side, it’s lossless. There can be a very slight difference from how the AVIF’s own compression already rendered the pixels, but converting AVIF to PNG doesn’t add any additional loss the way converting to JPG would.