Increase Storage, SAVE Money: iPad External Storage Explained!

Running an external SSD or flash drive for the iPad isn’t as simple as on a Mac or a PC, and choosing the right option can get… complicated.
ALL THE GEAR IN THIS VIDEO IS LISTED BELOW 👇

Today we’re diving into a couple different options when it comes to iPad external storage — whether you have an M2 iPad Pro, M1 iPad Air, 10th gen iPad, or another model, most of this material should be translatable. Portable SSDs will probably be the most common options, but flash drive or thumb drive have their place too. If you're look for the best portable SSD for iPad, or best flash drive for iPad, it might be worth giving this a watch.

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MY DESK SETUP GEAR:

0:00 Introduction
1:25 Why Use External Storage on iPad?
2:31 iPad Port Speeds
3:28 Advertised Drive Speeds
4:32 Real World Drive Speeds
4:59 File Transer
6:43 Formatting & Flash Drives
8:34 Battery Life
9:54 Portability, Reliability & Build
11:41 Wrapping Up

MUSIC I USE IN MY VIDEOS IS ALL FROM EPIDEMIC SOUND
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LINKS TO PRODUCTS MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS
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[historical_lisa]

If you are using the Magic Keyboard, you can use that to charge while the port is connected to the external drive.

[spade_yuno]

I was just thinking about getting a iPad and didn’t even know about all of this. This video was so informational yet easy to take and still entertaining

[mikehatak]

I’ve recently been using my iPad Pro for more and more tasks during the day. I edit my photo work on it, do quite a bit of video editing on it as well. If I could find something that I could do my pro voice over work on with the iPad I would consider using it for everything I do. It manages most every other aspect of my business.

[jc-jgpp]

dude this video is absolutely incredible, the information and production quality has been off the charts. The information especially was specifically what I have been searching for.

[Dragonblaster]

I use a 1TB SanDisk Portable Extreme with my M1 Pro, and it's great.

[TMacYYC]

Great information, Thanks. Recently went on an extended hike in Europe for 2 weeks. Used an Sandisk extreme, with a USBc hub, to backup data from my phone, Insta360, and GPS. I didn't have to worry about filling up the storage of any of the devices. Once I got home was able for use each day's data for video editing.

[AirPaternno]

I have used SanDisk 2 TB drive with my iPad Air with M1 chip now for about 6 months and it is absolutely fantastic. I have gotten a hands on with an Acasis with an iPad Pro and that was a treat. I can say the more and more I gravitate toward the iPad Air becoming my primary driver I am completely blown away by the power and efficiency of these machines.

[BBBCanada]

I didn’t even know you could hook up an external drive to a tab. Gmail is filled and I don’t want their storage where you pay monthly. Now it seems I can transfer pictures from my Google pictures to an external HD and then delete them from Google.

[OayzHozey]

My god! Finally someone explaining storage perfectly. Thank you and subscribing 😊

[marisgoldenhour]

You had me at Billy Ocean. 😊💙 Thank you so much for this video. I've been researching all the things ipad figuring out which accessories would best suit my needs, keeping costs in mind. Your review was short, thorough and exactly what I needed to make an informed decision. Or, it is yet another beginning leading down many more tech rabbit holes. 🙄 Thanks again!

[satanistwitch]

I have a question about using hard drives on iPads which I’m thinking of doing for storage. How do you save and eject your files safely before ejecting the hard drive?

[swajihh]

6:02, can we edit on davinci resolve on ipad straight off of the external hard drive?

[danalane]

Thank you for this! I got the iexpand drive from SanDisk, and it's okay for backing up photos, but I've been needing a beefier backup, as I do a lot of graphic design work on my ipad. I have been frustrated trying to figure out what drive to get. I thought I would either have to have an ipad-specific hard drive, or reformat one to work. I love knowing I can use one as an extension to both my PC and ipad! This makes things much more clear!

[UnfoundDigital]

Hey Kyle, great video! - one question: can you work off an external hard drive or will you always have to import files you are working on to your iPad? Could you work on a Procreate file located on your hard drive for instance? Or edit video with footage located on an external hard drive? I consider an iPad Air.
Thanks!

[billdillon]

Thanks for the video. Surprised you didn't include the iPad Mini due to its popularity. I do some photo and video editing on my iPad Mini 5. I use a Samsung T7 Portable SSD but have to use an external power pack too and a couple of dongles. I also use the Sandisk iXpand 64GB drive. It has a lightning connector and a USB connector. Hey, it works for me. I have no idea how fast either method is.

[JayzBeerz]

What about iPads with lightning ports.

[mula]

Thank you for the great info Kyle. I was wondering how you feel about long term storage on these SSD Drives. I’ve read that they aren’t great stability wise. Any thoughts?

[HugeFan]

I’m getting mixed information about iPad Pro storage. I’m using a 12.9” gen 3, 1TB model. Is there a limit to an external hard drive capacity with that model? And what’s up with only a single level of file storage? I can use multiple levels of files with thumbdrives but my 5TB SEAGATE backup Plus portable labeled “for Windows and Mac” is not recognized (power light is on & its spinning but it never shows up on the list). It’s connected to an adapter with a USB-C power pass-thru and have tried both ipad only power and with the pass-thru —makes no difference. I have tested the drive on my Win PC and it works just fine. I obviously need advice on how to make this work. Help, please.
13:05

[sheldonwong]

Great video Kyle! I'm on an iPad mini 6 64GB, I don't need extra storage yet but good to know that there are options. I do have an M2 Mac Mini coming in, would love to watch a video on external storage options for the Mac Mini, especially those hubs with additional ports that seem to be very popular nowadays.

[Rwjudy]

Moving more and more to iPad only computing. Good to know I can access data on my external drives. Thank you.