Beta reveals powerful macOS disk formatting options coming to the iPad and iPhone

While Apple doesn’t outright say it, the iPad can be used as your everyday computer instead of a Mac in a lot of instances. Those instances where the iPad is unsuitable often involve more mundane but vital tasks, but it appears that Apple is slowly fixing those deficiencies in iPadOS–there’s a new feature in the upcoming iPad OS 18 that is quite useful.

Kaleb Cadle, who writes about Apple stuff (among other tech topics) on ByteBits, discovered the ability to erase and format attached storage devices in the iPadOS 18 beta. The function is in the Files app—tap and hold the external storage device to see the Erase option, and then you’ll have the option to rename the device and pick one of three formats: APFS, ExFAT, or MS-DOS (FAT). The option was also discovered in the iOS 18 beta as well, according to Macrumors.

While the ability to erase and format drives may not be one you use frequently on an iPad (you probably don’t use it a lot on a Mac, either), it’s a very useful function. It saves you from having to turn to a Mac if you find yourself in this situation. Cadle wonders if Apple will eventually bring other functions from the Mac’s Disk Utility app over to the iPad, such as Restore and First Aid–we certainly hope so.

Keep in mind that this is an iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 feature, so it’ll only be available on compatible devices—and may be limited to certain models with specific hardware requirements.

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