iOS and iPadOS 18 add the option to format external drives
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Obviously quite nice, but I am still waiting in vain for an Orthodox File Manager on the iPad OS. Could be pretty well reimagined from the days of yore in its UI, since dragging and file multiselection should be pretty easy to do with touch interfaces, possibly even better. I'd assume that OFM UX would just work great on a tablet – dragging files over to the second pane is much more natural than the current system, alas...
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I wonder when we will have the following in iOS:
1. Proper keyboard+mouse support
2. External displays via Thunderbolt
3. Xcode on iOS
If all of these come to pass, I will finally be able to ditch my laptop!
/s If it weren’t obvious.
1. Proper keyboard+mouse support
2. External displays via Thunderbolt
3. Xcode on iOS
If all of these come to pass, I will finally be able to ditch my laptop!
/s If it weren’t obvious.
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Both iPad and iPhone now have hardware well capable of running a full desktop environment without issue. If Apple wanted to(they don't) they could make them present a full macOS-like desktop when hooked up to an external screen, with an external mouse and keyboard.
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Probably I’m in the minority here on Ars but seeing this type of change in iOS isn’t something I feel that positive about. For me, the appeal of iDevices is their simplicity both hardware and software wise. I know they’re slowly turning into more of a full fledged computer type of device now but I don’t like it since it so far that change process has come with a usability deterioration. While it can now do more things, doing the simple things is also often a bit more cluttered and less straightforward, and I’d rather take less functionality for a more streamlined user experience.
I realise that others feel totally the opposite and that’s fine, but I will never embrace your side
I realise that others feel totally the opposite and that’s fine, but I will never embrace your side
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I use the Files app quite a bit on my iPad, along with iCloud. Together they let me view my Mac’s desktop folder, but moving files back and forth between iCloud and OnMyIPad is hardly an intuitive way of doing things. There really needs to be a better way.
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It was pretty effective, too. I digitize analog media so the main deliverable is multimedia files for casual users. I realized one day that talking about files at all (type, extensions, specifications, even size) was creating way more FUD than it was confidence.
There's a good chunk of GenX (me among them) and some millennials who want to know all the granular details, but the youths don't want to be made to think about files any more than their grandparents do. Have since started asking everyone about how they want to use and share the content and it's a much more productive conversation.
The 80s kid in me mourns the change, but the fraction of non-Ars-reading people who care at all about the concept of files is dwindling every day.
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I hear where you're coming from but, in this instance, regular users aren't going to be exposed to any of this capability. I suspect that most casual users have never even opened the files app. Plugging external storage media into your phone is even more niche and, until the recent demise of the lightning port, couldn't even be done without the arcane knowledge that the so-named camera adapter was actually a general USB host adapter.Probably I’m in the minority here on Ars but seeing this type of change in iOS isn’t something I feel that positive about. For me, the appeal of iDevices is their simplicity both hardware and software wise. I know they’re slowly turning into more of a full fledged computer type of device now but I don’t like it since it so far that change process has come with a usability deterioration. While it can now do more things, doing the simple things is also often a bit more cluttered and less straightforward, and I’d rather take less functionality for a more streamlined user experience.
I realise that others feel totally the opposite and that’s fine, but I will never embrace your side
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At least in my experience, I need to use
This is definitely better than nothing though (if for some reason you're stuck with storage needing a format).
diskutil in the macOS CLI a little too often when the Disk Utility app just gives up and fails.This is definitely better than nothing though (if for some reason you're stuck with storage needing a format).
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A bit un/related, a friend teaches a few classes in IT programs at a college in Toronto. There's a 101 1st semester class that goes over computer/server parts, format, install and setup OSs, physical ports...you know, 101 stuff.
Well, recently they had to change that class because new students are struggling with a few things, including the concept of FOLDERS, and folder hierarchy. They now have to actually teach what an OS is and how it works at the basic level. There are "no folders" on mobile, just apps. Pics and vids are in the photo app, downloaded files are opened through another app (pdf with acrobat)...
They made a poll before the change and found outmore than 50% a significant number (can't remember correctly the percentage, but I believe it was close or more than 50%) of students were using mobile devices for written assignments. In class, they keep asking if there is a way to do "computer assignments" on their mobile devices.
An IT course. Wild.
edit: correcting a few things
Well, recently they had to change that class because new students are struggling with a few things, including the concept of FOLDERS, and folder hierarchy. They now have to actually teach what an OS is and how it works at the basic level. There are "no folders" on mobile, just apps. Pics and vids are in the photo app, downloaded files are opened through another app (pdf with acrobat)...
They made a poll before the change and found out
An IT course. Wild.
edit: correcting a few things
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How much longer (not holding my breath..) until an attached camera shows up as a drive in the files app? I don’t like how photos handles raw files (specifically, I can’t seem to export the raws if I imported as raw+jpeg..)
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This probably depends on the camera and whether it exposes its storage as a generic USB mass storage device, right? Some cameras still present as proprietary devices and require their own app to be installed.
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FYI - this feature is only for iPads running on the M4 apple silicon
tried to share the apple support doc that details this but couldnt share it
tried to share the apple support doc that details this but couldnt share it
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I was impressed when my phone learned how to play Snake. I never imagined it would be formatting my USB drives!
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Well file is just a shorthand for 'discrete block of memory with encoding information', presumably you still have to talk about image or video or document, and file is a reasonable shorthand I think?
I'm not trying to be snippy at all, but I'm wondering how you have the conversation if you find you're moving away from things like that entirely! Maybe it's my genx mind but I can't picture it and I'm curious.
Is it like I'd like to share these memories with my family', so along the lines of user stories more than technical details?
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I’ll have to do some more investigation when I have it on hand, but the camera is a Canon R6
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Maybe, but the attraction for me is the lack of all of that. Streamlined operation. I don't ever intend to do my taxes on the device.
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Right... this is a trivial "feature" which has been doable since the first iPhone was jailbroken. iPhoneOS is basically the same kernel as MacOS, so it was just a matter of taking whatever code Disk Utility is already using and and providing a UI on the iPhone (through the Files app, rather than a dedicated disk utility, apparently). In fact, the formatting code is probably already present, since (I believe) the iPhone will format its internal storage when you restore the device, and the iPhone uses APFS for its internal storage as well.
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Well, in my experience, I need to use Readdle Documents in iOS a little too often when Files.app just gives up and fails. Files.app is getting significantly better than it was when it first came out, but I can still crash it when doing any but the most basic of tasks.
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Filza is to this day light years ahead of Files.app. On the rare occasion where I've been operating a phone in jailbroken mode, I've really appreciated the ability to do my own APFS snapshots, check file integrity, and clear out system snapshots I don't actually need.
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Then don't use the features. They won't be in your way.Probably I’m in the minority here on Ars but seeing this type of change in iOS isn’t something I feel that positive about. For me, the appeal of iDevices is their simplicity both hardware and software wise. I know they’re slowly turning into more of a full fledged computer type of device now but I don’t like it since it so far that change process has come with a usability deterioration. While it can now do more things, doing the simple things is also often a bit more cluttered and less straightforward, and I’d rather take less functionality for a more streamlined user experience.
I realise that others feel totally the opposite and that’s fine, but I will never embrace your side
This is a bit like people complaining that they like Apple's walled garden and don't want to not have to use a monopolistic app store: then don't!
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That last line is pretty much it. I ask who they are sharing it with, and about the devices they want to use the content on, and that's what I deliver. Most people want to know if they can plug a thumb drive into their TV and watch the content, or how do they get it on their phone. I usually ask if parents or grandparents are going to want a DVD, which itself doesn't occur to as many people in 2024.
The occasional person in our own demographic will quiz me on bit rates, codecs and whatnot but it's less and less common. I'm happy to deliver that experience too, but only on request. It was a change that took a while for me to come around to honestly.
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People have been increasingly asking why iPads can’t do more of the things Macs do (I’m one of them).
I won’t try to read the minds of Apple’s strategists, but if I were planning to make the iPad a power user’s device I would absolutely introduce a range of features in a slow-ish, controlled manner. The dreamer in me wants this to be a small, quiet yet important step towards a less-hamstrung iPad experience
I won’t try to read the minds of Apple’s strategists, but if I were planning to make the iPad a power user’s device I would absolutely introduce a range of features in a slow-ish, controlled manner. The dreamer in me wants this to be a small, quiet yet important step towards a less-hamstrung iPad experience
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I think there are 3 protocols you're likely to see from USB attached cameras:
USB mass storage, Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) and Media Transfer Protocol (MTP)
The first one is a block access protocol. The latter 2 are logical access to the files and so tend to be seen in smarter devices that want to continue to use the filesystem as it's being remotely accessed.
I don't know about IOS, but MacOS only supports USB mass storage and PTP. MTP has good support on all other operating systems.
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Drop table users;
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
Probably I’m in the minority here on Ars but seeing this type of change in iOS isn’t something I feel that positive about. For me, the appeal of iDevices is their simplicity both hardware and software wise. I know they’re slowly turning into more of a full fledged computer type of device now but I don’t like it since it so far that change process has come with a usability deterioration. While it can now do more things, doing the simple things is also often a bit more cluttered and less straightforward, and I’d rather take less functionality for a more streamlined user experience.
I realise that others feel totally the opposite and that’s fine, but I will never embrace your side
Absolutely.
The appliance like nature of the iPad is absolutely fine for what it is.
Who is it that actually wants to manage files?
I get enough of that on other operating systems.
If I feel like dicking around in the OS there are plenty of other options.
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I think the difference is "export a file, send the file to someone, they open it in their app" vs. "hit Share, pick their contact, they accept a notification, the content is now in their app"
Some people are going to understand the latter more even though behind the scenes the same stuff is happening.
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Like this? This is how I move files back and forth from my iPad to iCloud when I'm working with Logic.
edit: This is a screenshot of my iPad just in case anyone is unfamiliar with iOS. The screen is split and two file apps running side by side. You can also use Stage manager if you want to overlap the windows for a more desktop look.
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My funny, tangentially-related experience: I bought an open-box tv (LG OLED) last year that didn't come with a remote. Was stymied by the setup process requiring a physical remote before I could even just use the phone app, and I really didn't want to go source one (I'm technical and stubborn). A bunch of searching finally revealed that I could just plug a USB keyboard into the TV and operate it with arrow keys/enter. I may have been able to type for input fields as well, but I forget.
As a millennial who grew up in the days of endless driver installs and issues, it absolutely blew my mind. I never in a million years would have imagined that plugging a keyboard into my tv would just work. Even plugging a USB stick into a tv would have me asking, "ok, but what file system is supported, and what codecs?"
It made me wonder if the younger folks would never imagine why it wouldn't work! Interoperability has come so far, they really never had to think much about file types or drivers or other such things, I suspect
Edit: clarity
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Drop table users;
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
Conversely the idiots are upvoting you.
It's not hobbled by anything.
The power is there for very specific use cases.
This might be the test case for dumbest possible conclusion.
There is absolutely no-one that is spending the money for a pimped out iPad AND a MacBook.
Use that brain for one second... why would anyone do that?
Here's the interesting part.
Apple offers several tiers of iPad.
Starting at $299, none of the idiot conspiracy theorists acknowledge.
I have an iPad Air 4th gen and the idea of using it as a computing device is patently idiotic.
For me and for most people it is nothing more than a media consumption device.
This is just the only conclusion you can draw because you think of everything as a general purpose computing device. The idea that the hardware and operating system can be designed for specific use cases that have nothing to do with you, just makes you angry and frustrated.
To be fair, not knowing anything makes the world confusing and so conspiracy theories offer a sense of power and knowledge.. and company. because not knowing how stuff works is far more common than having a clue.
it comes from a peculiarly backwards way of thinking where one implies that a trillion dollar company makes an incredible device that is just utterly useless. It doesn't even occur to you to ask why.
It also doesn't see the concept of building towards a goal. Do you think that they just make processors and then find uses for them later? is that how you think the world works?
Just a simple question. Why would they do such a thing when they simply do not have to?
The question itself should maybe clue you in that you don't have all the information.
Let me clue you in, every single piece of computing technology that you see developed by a large company has been done at the behest of other large companies.
Computers were not developed for end users.
The internet was not developed for end users.
GPS was not developed for end users.
You simply have no clue and no insight into the trajectory of technology because you are not privy to that information.
To be fair neither am I, but am some point you should get back to reality.
No it isn't.
This is just idiotic.
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Just so long as if I don’t hook up the external peripherals, it doesn’t present a “full macOS-like desktop“. When I’m using a desktop computer, I want a desktop environment. When I’m using a tablet, I want a tablet environment.
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People posting this stuff understand that you can literally plug an iPad into an external display, keyboard, and mouse and run multiple apps in a window manager right now, right?
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