USB-C: iPadOS 18 can format external media

Apple continues to expand its support for USB-C devices on iPhone and iPad. According to reports from beta testers of iPadOS 18, for the first time it is now possible to format external storage media on the tablet directly through the Files app. This function was not available until now, which meant that you had to set up new SSDs, SD cards or hard drives on a Mac or PC before using them on the iPad.

Advertisement

Files app helps with new functions

This feature is still available well hidden. To use it, you need to click on the mounted media (right click via peripheral or long press with your finger) and then select “Delete”. Then the various options you know from Mac’s Disk Utility will appear. Currently APFS, ExFAT and FAT (MS-DOS) are explicitly supported, HFS+ is not explicitly supported.

Apple has recently significantly improved support for external media. This means that Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad can work directly with projects on external media, importing them onto the tablet is no longer necessary; what happens to completely fresh media that you plug into the iPad remained unclear at the beginning – the system should actually offer an option to initialize it. However, most commercially available external SSDs and SD cards are already pre-formatted, so you can usually use the new function to convert the file format – for example to Apple’s APFS.

Apple is said to be interested in Meta’s AI – in a nutshell

The iPad is becoming more and more like a Mac

Better support for external media shows that Apple wants to make the iPad more professional – and it is fast becoming a Mac replacement. However, standard iPadOS problems remain. The operating system is still designed to run separate apps rather than use them in multitasking mode.

You still can’t export projects in Final Cut Pro for iPad while working in other programs – the export fails then. You have to leave the app open until the process is complete. It was initially unclear whether the new formatting function for external media is also part of iOS 18.

(B.Sc.)