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iOS 13 on iPad

J

jmarttu24

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Original poster
Oct 31, 2017
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Do you think iOS 13 could allow support for external storage or do you think its a hardware thing and that they will have to release a new iPad to support it?

I have always wanted an iPad, but the lack of external storage support, has always kept me from buying one. If there is ways around it, please offer your ways of backing up your device without another computer.

Not saying they will even support external storage, just wishful thinking...
 
jmarttu24 said:
Do you think iOS 13 could allow support for external storage or do you think its a hardware thing and that they will have to release a new iPad to support it?
Click to expand...
Actually, the new iPad Pro is the first iPad that might actually be able to do this from a hardware perspective. Why? It can output a lot of power over USB-C and charge other devices. If any device is going to support external drives, it would be this one. Not saying it's going to happen in iOS 13, just saying that it's more likely than it has ever been up until this point. I can even confirm that the Samsung T5 SSD using it's supplied USB-C to USB-C cable does indeed power up the device with the indicator light blinking until iOS tells me it can't be read.
[doublepost=1541777316][/doublepost]Okay, so I just tested an older spinning USB 3.0 external drive (2.5") and it didn't even power up. It has one of those weird, flat, but longer USB 3.0 connectors (is it USB-B Mini or USB-A 3.0 Micro with the extra connectors?). I had to use a USB-C to USB-A female adapter, so IDK if that was causing problems, or if I had a single cable if it would work, but right now it's not. I don't have a USB-C drive that is non-SSD to test for higher power usage. Anyone else tried?
 
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If they wanted you to just use iCloud (Kerching $$$) then why did they allow dropbox etc to be incorporated into the Files App?

I think we could eventually see file storage devices allowed. With Photoshop coming and the associated file sizes it would be ridiculous not to
 
DNichter said:
Cloud services or an NAS. I use a QNAP TS 251+ and it’s basically my own personal cloud. I also use it to host my Plex server and Homebridge.
Click to expand...

so by using a NAS or QNAP TS 251+ I could get a 64gb storage iPad and I could access my personal server and be able to save and download the files basically anywhere as long as I have a wifi connection? sorry I am not familiar with these services.
 
jmarttu24 said:
so by using a NAS or QNAP TS 251+ I could get a 64gb storage iPad and I could access my personal server and be able to save and download the files basically anywhere as long as I have a wifi connection? sorry I am not familiar with these services.
Click to expand...

Yes and no. QNAP has apps for server management, but also a web based option as well. This houses a download tool where you can drop download links and download any files you want to your server. It also has its own files app called QFile that you can access anywhere with a network connection. I’ll usually acess this right through the Apple Files app though, so I pretty much just do all file management through the Files app, between iCloud and my server. Hope that makes sense, not as complicated as it may sound.
 
kultschar said:
If they wanted you to just use iCloud (Kerching $$$) then why did they allow dropbox etc to be incorporated into the Files App?

I think we could eventually see file storage devices allowed. With Photoshop coming and the associated file sizes it would be ridiculous not to
Click to expand...

Because I am sure that a lot of people in the Apple ecosystem are using iCloud already.
 
sparksd said:
I go to far too many places for extended periods of time where Internet access is really poor or nonexistent. I never count on availability of cloud services so I use my own wireless device + HDD. I'd prefer a direct connection for speed.
Click to expand...

I understand that, I was just answering his questions of how you can backup your device without a computer.
 
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File browser app it’s like $6 and a usb hdd connected to your router works fine also iCloud.
 
DNichter said:
Cloud services or an NAS. I use a QNAP TS 251+ and it’s basically my own personal cloud. I also use it to host my Plex server and Homebridge.
Click to expand...

Likewise. A multipurpose NAS makes a big difference in going iPad-only (or iPad-primary). I do wish Apple would add native WebDAV and SMB share support into Files though (obviously it can be incorporated with other apps, but it seems like the kind of thing that should be included).
 
To answer @jmarttu24 question though: I actually DO think Apple is going to add mass storage device support in iOS 13. Otherwise the move to USB-C is largely stupid.
[doublepost=1541805654][/doublepost]
KeepCalmPeople said:
iCloud and/or a local NAS are still a bottleneck in terms of throughput compared to hardwired storage, since they use Wi-Fi.
Click to expand...

What? You mean you DON'T want an Ethernet dongle hanging off your iPad all the time? :)
 
jmarttu24 said:
Do you think iOS 13 could allow support for external storage or do you think its a hardware thing and that they will have to release a new iPad to support it?

I have always wanted an iPad, but the lack of external storage support, has always kept me from buying one. If there is ways around it, please offer your ways of backing up your device without another computer.

Not saying they will even support external storage, just wishful thinking...
Click to expand...


Rumor has it iOS 13 will have a huge revamp with the user interface on the iPad hope it turns more into a computer and away from iOS
 
Dave-Z said:
Likewise. A multipurpose NAS makes a big difference in going iPad-only (or iPad-primary). I do wish Apple would add native WebDAV and SMB share support into Files though (obviously it can be incorporated with other apps, but it seems like the kind of thing that should be included).
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree. I can make it work, but it would be a whole lot better with both incorporated.
 
I think it is th elack of drivers that is limiting the use of external storage and direct connections to printers. I hope these will be included in IOS 13.
 
Ken Magel said:
I think it is th elack of drivers that is limiting the use of external storage and direct connections to printers. I hope these will be included in IOS 13.
Click to expand...
I think Apple needs to recognize and acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of a pure tablet. If they did that, then people wouldn't be clamoring for hard-wired peripherals.
 
KeepCalmPeople said:
I think Apple needs to recognize and acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of a pure tablet. If they did that, then people wouldn't be clamoring for hard-wired peripherals.
Click to expand...
Interesting.

What exactly is a "pure tablet"? How is Apple not recognizing and acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses?
 
sracer said:
Interesting.

What exactly is a "pure tablet"? How is Apple not recognizing and acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses?
Click to expand...
I would categorize a pure tablet as "not a 2-in-1" and "does not have a mouse". Maybe that's too simplistic.

As far as strengths and weaknesses, the more I think about it the more I feel that it is the Apple fanatics who position iPads as laptop replacements, more so than Apple themselves. Whenever somebody on this forum says "but why can't I copy a file from an SD card?" or something similar, people say they're doing it wrong.
 
jmarttu24 said:
Do you think iOS 13 could allow support for external storage or do you think its a hardware thing and that they will have to release a new iPad to support it?

I have always wanted an iPad, but the lack of external storage support, has always kept me from buying one. If there is ways around it, please offer your ways of backing up your device without another computer.

Not saying they will even support external storage, just wishful thinking...
Click to expand...
I just hope iOS 13 is fully optimized for the 8 Core A12X cpu in the new iPad Pro. iPad Pros should be hella faster than any iPhone loading apps and opening web pages compared to my iPhone 6s Plus. It’s way too close. And unacceptable than an iPhone 6s Plus gives you similar performance to a 2018 iPad Pro.
 
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KeepCalmPeople said:
I would categorize a pure tablet as "not a 2-in-1" and "does not have a mouse". Maybe that's too simplistic.

As far as strengths and weaknesses, the more I think about it the more I feel that it is the Apple fanatics who position iPads as laptop replacements, more so than Apple themselves. Whenever somebody on this forum says "but why can't I copy a file from an SD card?" or something similar, people say they're doing it wrong.
Click to expand...
From day-1, Apple provided a physical keyboard option for the iPad. They have always given the vision that the iPad was more than just a screen that one can touch.

But Apple wants to slow-walk the advances of the iPad as a laptop replacement because the longer it takes, the more iPads they can sell. They only advance when market forces cause them to. Android tablets, early on, were able to do more (in terms of laptop replacement) than the iPad... support for mice, removable storage, file system, extensive support for USB peripherals, extended displays, etc. But Apple was able to conquer Android tablets without having to offer any of those things.

The only possibility of Apple providing support for mice, removable storage, etc. will be if there is a viable competitor. If no competitor is forthcoming, Apple will not offer those things on the iPad.
 
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I’m surprised no one in this thread has mentioned that there are a number of wireless hard drives that *can* interact with iOS devices, both through the Files app and 3rd party apps? Western Digital’s My Passport Wireless is probably the best solution. You can transfer files from the SD card straight to the drive, and then the drive can be seen by multiple apps across iOS, pretty much anything you’d need to use for working on large files.

Sure, those wireless SSDs are more expensive than a regular one (although HDD versions exist that are pretty much the same price these days), and that’s not ideal. Plug and play is what mostly people want. But it is 100% possible to access files on an iOS device from a hard drive. I do it all the time.
 
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