USB-C: iPadOS 18 formats external media
Anyone using external media on their Apple tablet had to have formatted them beforehand. iPadOS 18 adds this central feature to the file manager.
Ein iPad Air M2.
(Image: Sebastian Trepesch)
Apple is further expanding its support for USB-C devices on the iPhone and iPad. As beta testers of iPadOS 18 report, it is now possible for the first time to format external storage media directly via the Files app on the tablet. Until now, this function was simply not available, which meant that fresh SSDs, SD cards or hard disks had to be set up on a Mac or PC before they could be used on the iPad.
Files app helps with new function
The feature is currently still well hidden. To use it, you have to click on the mounted medium (right-click on the periphery or press and hold with your finger) and then select "Delete". The various options familiar from the Mac's Disk Utility will then appear. APFS, ExFAT and FAT (MS-DOS) are apparently currently supported, HFS+ apparently not.
Apple has recently significantly improved support for external media. Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad can now work directly with projects on external media; importing to the tablet is no longer necessary. What happens with completely fresh media that is plugged into the iPad remained unclear at first – here the system should actually offer the option of initializing it. However, most commercially available external SSDs and SD cards are already pre-formatted, so that the new function can usually be used to change the file format – for example to Apple's APFS.
The iPad is increasingly becoming a Mac
The improved support for external media shows that Apple wants to further professionalize the iPad – and that it is increasingly becoming a Mac replacement. However, standard iPadOS problems remain. For example, the operating system is still designed to run individual apps instead of using them in multitasking mode.
For example, it is still not possible to export projects in Final Cut Pro for iPad while working in other programs – the export then simply fails. You have to leave the app open until the process has been completed. Whether the new formatting function for external media is also part of iOS 18 remained unclear at first.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
