Connecting external devices
Connect your iPad (or iPhone) to almost anything via the power of USB-C
IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes
YOU WILL LEARN How to use external storage and other devices with iPad
YOU’LL NEED iPad, USB-C cables or adaptors
Your USB-C iPad can charge your iPhone, AirPods or Apple Watch
One of our favourite things about the latest iPads is their USB-C port, which enables you to connect all kinds of devices. USB-C is the most recent and fastest version of the standard, and it enables you to connect more demanding devices such as fast external storage. It also enables you to charge your iPhone, AirPods or Apple Watch; just connect the appropriate cable to your iPad and it’ll share its battery. That’s not all your iPad can do. It can move files to and from external drives and memory cards; connect to DisplayPort external displays; connect to external keyboards and mice; connect to USB interfaces for microphones and musical instruments; and you can use it with adapters as an HDMI output or an Ethernet connector.
Some limits apply
With the third-generation iPad Pro 11-inch and the fifth-generation iPad Pro 12.9-inch, you can daisy-chain devices to connect multiple Thunderbolt devices simultaneously.
There are some limits to what you can do, however. USB webcams won’t work in FaceTime, and while you can connect to external storage you can’t format or partition it and it has to be formatted as exFAT, HFS, FAT32, or APFS. And some USB devices need more power than your iPad can provide, so for those you’ll need to connect your iPad to a mains-powered USB hub.
HOW TO Using an external drive
1 Open up Files
When you connect a USB external drive or memory card, it’ll show up in the Locations section of the Files app’s sidebar. Some devices may need external power – if so, they won’t show up until they’re connected to power.
2 Explore your files
As you can see, external storage works just like your iPad storage – and you can drag and drop between the two. You can’t format external storage from your iPad, though; for
