iPad Air iPad Air 5 - External Storage

[ufgatorvet]

On the Apple website under the information for the new iPad Air, there is a picture of the Air connected to a LaCie external storage device, however, under the accessories tab on apple.com none of these LaCie external storage devices are listed as compatible with the new Air. Has it just not been updated yet?

I was wondering what people use for external storage (e.g. for a huge video library to take on the go)? Am I missing something obvious (noob here) if I were to get a 64 GB Air, and then pair it with a 500 GB LaCie (or equivalent) external drive and actually save a few bucks (or, at least get a lot more storage for less upfront investment)?

Thanks for enlightening me.

 

[rui no onna]

It just uses regular USB Mass Storage protocol so no special requirements as far as compatibility. I guess the only issue would be if the drive requires more power than the port can provide.


I use this:

SanDisk 1TB Ultra Dual Drive Luxe USB Type-C - SDDDC4-1T00-G46, Silver

Looking for stylish storage that works across your USB Type-C and Type-A devices? Whether you’re taking amazing photos of your latest adventure or creating content in the office, the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Luxe is the all-metal, 2-in-1 flash drive that lets you easily move files between USB Typ...

smile.amazon.com

It's much slower than SSD but far more convenient than having wires hanging off the iPad. Also much easier to carry around in the pocket or keychain.

It's more than fast enough for watching full quality 4K UHD Blu-ray rips. The slow write speeds are tolerable for write once, read many which is pretty much what you'd do for a video archive. I just run a batch copy overnight on my desktop to copy from NAS to flash drive.

Note, while you can play videos directly from Files app, controls are primitive and format support is limited. You'll probably want to get a third party app such as nPlayer or Infuse Pro that can play a variety of formats and support playback from external storage.

 

[MarkC426]

I was wondering what people use for external storage (e.g. for a huge video library to take on the go)? Am I missing something obvious (noob here) if I were to get a 64 GB Air, and then pair it with a 500 GB LaCie (or equivalent) external drive and actually save a few bucks (or, at least get a lot more storage for less upfront investment)?

The problem (for me) with the external storage, is you cannot put any 'protected' data on it.
i.e. iTunes Movies/TV Shows/Music/Books etc.

Only really useful for personal image files created in an app, or music created on your iPad, that sort of thing.
If your using the iPad as a 'computer' with daily documents created then great.

 

[rui no onna]

The problem (for me) with the external storage, is you cannot put any 'protected' data on it.
i.e. iTunes Movies/TV Shows/Music/Books etc.

Yep, this is a major downside. No Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, etc. downloads either.

 

[ufgatorvet]

I am looking for a way to travel with my iPad and drone, and offload all daily videos and images for the day onto the iPad from the drone MicroSD cards.

I do not currently own a laptop and travelling with the drone + iPad + external storage device seems like the sweet spot. I am hoping that I will be able to archive and edit all my footage "in the field" that way.

 

[rui no onna]

I am looking for a way to travel with my iPad and drone, and offload all daily videos and images for the day onto the iPad from the drone MicroSD cards.

I do not currently own a laptop and travelling with the drone + iPad + external storage device seems like the sweet spot. I am hoping that I will be able to archive and edit all my footage "in the field" that way.

I don't trust Apple's external storage support enough to use it for transferring the only copy of original data.

 

[sparksd]

I am looking for a way to travel with my iPad and drone, and offload all daily videos and images for the day onto the iPad from the drone MicroSD cards.

I do not currently own a laptop and travelling with the drone + iPad + external storage device seems like the sweet spot. I am hoping that I will be able to archive and edit all my footage "in the field" that way.

I do that but I don't use the Files app, I use FileBrowser Pro. I've probably copied a few thousand photos & videos from card storage to backup storage with it and never had a problem. I use a USB-C hub to connect both an SSD and SD card to the iPad for the copy. Alternatively, I can just copy from the card in a card reader to the iPad, again I use FileBrowser.

 

[sparksd]

It just uses regular USB Mass Storage protocol so no special requirements as far as compatibility. I guess the only issue would be if the drive requires more power than the port can provide.


I use this:

SanDisk 1TB Ultra Dual Drive Luxe USB Type-C - SDDDC4-1T00-G46, Silver

Looking for stylish storage that works across your USB Type-C and Type-A devices? Whether you’re taking amazing photos of your latest adventure or creating content in the office, the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Luxe is the all-metal, 2-in-1 flash drive that lets you easily move files between USB Typ...

smile.amazon.com

It's much slower than SSD but far more convenient than having wires hanging off the iPad. Also much easier to carry around in the pocket or keychain.

It's more than fast enough for watching full quality 4K UHD Blu-ray rips. The slow write speeds are tolerable for write once, read many which is pretty much what you'd do for a video archive. I just run a batch copy overnight on my desktop to copy from NAS to flash drive.

Note, while you can play videos directly from Files app, controls are primitive and format support is limited. You'll probably want to get a third party app such as nPlayer or Infuse Pro that can play a variety of formats and support playback from external storage.

The SanDisk is a great option. Does it get very hot on large transfers to it? I used to use a 512GB SanDisk flash but on large transfers, it got so hot that it would literally give you a burn - I didn't want to trust that hot of a device in my laptop or desktop.

 

[rui no onna]

The SanDisk is a great option. Does it get very hot on large transfers to it? I used to use a 512GB SanDisk flash but on large transfers, it got so hot that it would literally give you a burn - I didn't want to trust that hot of a device in my laptop or desktop.

It does. Not quite burning but definitely uncomfortable. Mind, the metal chassis works well as a heatsink so some light airflow (e.g. fanning it with a piece of cardboard) works great at cooling it.

 

[sparksd]

It does. Not quite burning but definitely uncomfortable. Mind, the metal chassis works well as a heatsink so some light airflow (e.g. fanning it with a piece of cardboard) works great at cooling it.

Good point on the fan - I tried that with the flash I had but the flash had too small of a profile for the fan to be effective; this one would be better. My use was similar - very occasional large writes of video files. I'm currently using a 400GB uSD card in a small USB-C reader for the same purpose (good repurposing of a card I already had with a $13 reader) -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08131PLHZ

 

[rui no onna]

Good point on the fan - I tried that with the flash I had but the flash had too small of a profile for the fan to be effective; this one would be better. My use was similar - very occasional large writes of video files. I'm currently using a 400GB uSD card in a small USB-C reader for the same purpose (good repurposing of a card I already had with a $13 reader) -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08131PLHZ

Was that the Cruzer Fit? Likely partly due to materials. Metal is simply a better conductor than plastic.

 

[sparksd]

Was that the Cruzer Fit? Likely partly due to materials. Metal is simply a better conductor than plastic.

SanDisk Ultra Fit & Samsung Fit, both small and with plastic covering, e.g. -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083ZS4HYD

 

[rui no onna]

SanDisk Ultra Fit & Samsung Fit, both small and with plastic covering, e.g. -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083ZS4HYD

I've used both of those. Iirc, the Samsung Fit didn't get as hot as the Ultra Fit. Seems better built, too. The Ultra disintegrated in my pocket (kept along with keys).

 

[sparksd]

I've used both of those. Iirc, the Samsung Fit didn't get as hot as the Ultra Fit. Seems better built, too. The Ultra disintegrated in my pocket (kept along with keys).

Yeah, bottom line is I'll steer clear of the low-profile plastic flash drives - my uSD reader and your USB-C drive are better solutions (primarily for my Mini 6 as I'll generally use my Samsung T7 with the 12.9).

 

[ufgatorvet]

Great info, I really appreciate the ideas.

So, what would be the “best” option for getting drone video from MicroSD to external SSD for storage and then back and forth to iPad for viewing, editing, uploading to the cloud/YouTube, etc?

 

[max2]

I wish they made a low profile usb stick as big as 4 TB

 

[Mark Stone]

On the Apple website under the information for the new iPad Air, there is a picture of the Air connected to a LaCie external storage device, however, under the accessories tab on apple.com none of these LaCie external storage devices are listed as compatible with the new Air. Has it just not been updated yet?

I was wondering what people use for external storage (e.g. for a huge video library to take on the go)? Am I missing something obvious (noob here) if I were to get a 64 GB Air, and then pair it with a 500 GB LaCie (or equivalent) external drive and actually save a few bucks (or, at least get a lot more storage for less upfront investment)?

Thanks for enlightening me.

@rui no onna has the correct response in post 2. I use a fairly generic 500gb flash drive on my Air 5th Gen, no problems. It’s accessible through the Files app. 😊

 

[Skeptical.me]

On the Apple website under the information for the new iPad Air, there is a picture of the Air connected to a LaCie external storage device, however, under the accessories tab on apple.com none of these LaCie external storage devices are listed as compatible with the new Air. Has it just not been updated yet?

I was wondering what people use for external storage (e.g. for a huge video library to take on the go)? Am I missing something obvious (noob here) if I were to get a 64 GB Air, and then pair it with a 500 GB LaCie (or equivalent) external drive and actually save a few bucks (or, at least get a lot more storage for less upfront investment)?

Thanks for enlightening me.

I have this model iPad Air and storage capacity, I use a 4TB WD portable HDD with it and it works perfectly fine, any (decent brand) portable HDD will do the trick.