iPad Pro Moving from a MacBook but...

[JamesMay82]

Your proposal is a nice idea but its just a basic file backup that just results in a massive folder full of random photos and videos. If the OP uses Photos to any extent of its basic functionality the albums info would be lost, any tags created, faces data is gone and would need to be rebuilt over weeks (for me it really takes that long) and any other form of database structure that makes the experience pleasant and organised would no longer be there causing the OP to put in hours of time to put this back in place. Preserving the Photos database, in my opinion is crucial - hence Time Machine and stick with the MacBook. iPad just doesn't do proper backup yet.

very good point about all the meta data potentially being lost which would be a nightmare if you had to rebuild your photo library from a back up.

I think it's honestly best to just keep your Mac as the main host of your photos and other data which then backs up to an external drive and then use the iPad as a secondary device for viewing all that data if you prefer.

Since having a family I'm obsessed with not losing my families photos so I'm quite paranoid about it and I wouldn't put all my trust into an iPad with iCloud.

My sister dropped her phone and had to get a new one and couldn't remember her password so she lost all of her photos and apple couldn't get her back in. you'd be incredibly unlucky like her and I'm sure its rare but I'd hate to be that statistic.

 

[okkibs]

There is no proper backup solution for iPad, full stop. You can do it with cloud services but a single cloud service is not a proper backup. If there are any issues with this cloud's data integrity or your account to access the data it might all be inaccessible. Apple accounts have been wrongly closed (permanently) in the past with no recourse left for the users, and similarly this has happened with Google and Microsoft accounts as well.

When you put all your eggs in one basket meaning all your services are depending on a single account, any issue with that account, even if it's just account hijacking through phishing or something, can really grind everything to a halt.

Ok, so I can still have a local copy and backup external! I wasn't aware that could be done.

It is all very manual and complicated and prone to user error. In contrast Time machine actually Just Works. And supports incremental backups and keeping multiple versions properly tagged with date and time.

I really like Time Machine, guess its just a different work flow with an ipad

Yeah it is a worse workflow.

I would at the very least keep some kind of computer around, even if it's an old windows computer, as long as you can create local encrypted backups to quickly restore if the worst situation happens. Imagine your iPad gets stolen and your account gets locked and you need to access your work/data urgently. You can restore the backup offline to a new iPad and get access immediately. Although even that is limited because you absolutely need to buy another iPad to restore the backup.

I have a 2TB iPad and managing storage is challenging. Even with iCloud the Files app on the iPad constantly hangs, crashes, or interrupts copying, with over 1TB of data stored on my iPad I can confidently tell you that it's not even worth attempting to go without a Mac. You need the internet speeds to keep up with it too and internet access everywhere you need to access the cloud. Transferring a lot of small files over a SSD crashes the iPad as well sometimes, and I have the M4 iPad since launch day. The state of iPad is so embarrassing for Apple it's not even funny. You don't even get a progress bar when you copy things and good luck working with so much files in all the apps. Maybe you can do it if it's all just video to watch like TV shows, but actual data to work with in multiple apps on a daily basis, it's a frenzie of importing this, exporting that, copying to, copying from, unplugging this drive, plugging in that accessoire, remember you only got a single USB-C port to work with (though a USB hub would be supported or even a thunderbolt dock on the iPad Pro). But even that never worked for me, I tried it with a Belking TB dock and it would randomly disconnect devices.

I can guarantee nobody at Apple does serious work with the iPad. I really wanna know the percentage of Apple employees who have an iPad with 1TB or more of their data stored on it. That being said I am happy with the iPad due to the small footprint but I have a Mac as well and I use each one where they shine the most. Replacing the Mac with the iPad is not where the iPad shines the most. It can be done for some workflows.

 

[Ludatyk]

Transferring a lot of small files over a SSD crashes the iPad as well sometimes, and I have the M4 iPad since launch day. The state of iPad is so embarrassing for Apple it's not even funny. You don't even get a progress bar when you copy things and good luck working with so much files in all the apps. Maybe you can do it if it's all just video to watch like TV shows, but actual data to work with in multiple apps on a daily basis, it's a frenzie of importing this, exporting that, copying to, copying from, unplugging this drive, plugging in that accessoire, remember you only got a single USB-C port to work with (though a USB hub would be supported or even a thunderbolt dock on the iPad Pro). But even that never worked for me, I tried it with a Belking TB dock and it would randomly disconnect devices.

This is not true. Makes me wonder do you actually have an iPad at all… there is a progress circle when copying things over to/from an external drive.

And I’ve yet to have SSD crashes recently. If you were referring back to when external drive first was supported on iPadOS then yes, it was an hassle. But nowadays, I haven’t experienced any issues.

 

[ForkHandles]

Put your hand in your pocket, buy an iPad with a really big memory, download all the originals to the iPad, you then have a second storage facility.

 

[MrCookieMonster]

Thanks everyone for the response. Seems like a simple thing to want/need that is missing. Such a shame.

Think I will still get the iPad but will keep the MacBook purely for this and any thing else that doesn’t work.

Not sure I am ready to fully leave the MacBook yet. So close but so far.

 

[citivolus]

What about this?

 

[richpjr]

And I’ve yet to have SSD crashes recently. If you were referring back to when external drive first was supported on iPadOS then yes, it was an hassle. But nowadays, I haven’t experienced any issues.

You are lucky. It still occasionally happens to me.

 

[Slartibart]

FileBrowser on the iPad will allow the OP to copy the album structure of Apple Photos or even sync it comfortably.
If OP does not need syncs, FE File Explorer will allow for to access and copy Apple Photos album structure too.
Both programs are highly reliable when copying to external SSDs or a NAS.

nota bene: personally I would not connect HDD directly to any iPad to copy data to it. Technically you can of course, but it is a exercise in patience compared to SSDs, YMMV.

 

[Ludatyk]

You are lucky. It still occasionally happens to me.

And what happens exactly? Crashing? By transferring files to or from an external drive?

 

[Zazoh]

Can always move to a mini to handle local backups. Don’t need the MacBook.

 

[Night Spring]

Can always move to a mini to handle local backups. Don’t need the MacBook.

This is the combination I've ended up with. Desktop + iPad. At first the desktop was an iMac, now I have a mini.

 

[AlexJaye]

This is not true. Makes me wonder do you actually have an iPad at all… there is a progress circle when copying things over to/from an external drive.

And I’ve yet to have SSD crashes recently. If you were referring back to when external drive first was supported on iPadOS then yes, it was an hassle. But nowadays, I haven’t experienced any issues.

That “progress circle” is a complete joke and there is no defending it.

 

[Ludatyk]

That “progress circle” is a complete joke and there is no defending it.

Joke? Care to elaborate on that? The "progress circle" helps users to determine when their transfers are complete.... not sure what mean by joke. Would you rather it be a dialog box or something?

 

[okkibs]

The "progress circle" helps users to determine when their transfers are complete....

You're just messing with us, right? Otherwise just look at a simple transfer progress window on any windows machine, maybe you'll notice what's missing.

 

[Ludatyk]

You're just messing with us, right? Otherwise just look at a simple transfer progress window on any windows machine, maybe you'll notice what's missing.

So, let me get straight… you want a WINDOW or a dialog box to show you transfer progress?

Because the progress “circle” provides the same functionality as the progress window… it shows the status of the file transfer. It has a symbol (circle) indicating the progress… you tap on it, provides the time and how much data that’s been transferred.

 

[okkibs]

you tap on it, provides the time and how much data that’s been transferred.

I really wondered when I read this if we are using the same iPadOS and just tried it on my newish M4 iPad Pro and it's now behaving in a way that I haven't seen before. I tried selecting various folders that each hold a couple hundred GB and the iPad is a 1TB model with enough free space. I don't even have an indication that a copy is in progress. I do see the folders created at the destination on the iPad but the circle on top is missing. It doesn't even look like it's attempting to copy and the folders so far remain empty although it might just take an hour or two over Wifi.

Unless this is a bug that affects the most recent 17.5.1 or there is some other issue going on I can only conclude that the Files app is now worse than it was on my M1 iPad Pro as it doesn't seem to want to copy at all anymore. I haven't used the Files app in months on the M1 iPad Pro either so it might be an iPadOS 17 thing.

Any ideas how I am holding it wrong this time?

 

[JamesMay82]

I really wondered when I read this if we are using the same iPadOS and just tried it on my newish M4 iPad Pro and it's now behaving in a way that I haven't seen before. I tried selecting various folders that each hold a couple hundred GB and the iPad is a 1TB model with enough free space. I don't even have an indication that a copy is in progress. I do see the folders created at the destination on the iPad but the circle on top is missing. It doesn't even look like it's attempting to copy and the folders so far remain empty although it might just take an hour or two over Wifi.

Unless this is a bug that affects the most recent 17.5.1 or there is some other issue going on I can only conclude that the Files app is now worse than it was on my M1 iPad Pro as it doesn't seem to want to copy at all anymore. I haven't used the Files app in months on the M1 iPad Pro either so it might be an iPadOS 17 thing.

Any ideas how I am holding it wrong this time?

I have the same issue and I just gave up on the files app after that. It seems to work okay with smaller files but larger gig files it has a hissy fit

 

[Ludatyk]

I really wondered when I read this if we are using the same iPadOS and just tried it on my newish M4 iPad Pro and it's now behaving in a way that I haven't seen before. I tried selecting various folders that each hold a couple hundred GB and the iPad is a 1TB model with enough free space. I don't even have an indication that a copy is in progress. I do see the folders created at the destination on the iPad but the circle on top is missing. It doesn't even look like it's attempting to copy and the folders so far remain empty although it might just take an hour or two over Wifi.

So, you selected various folders to copy to where? But this is what should happen.

Unless this is a bug that affects the most recent 17.5.1 or there is some other issue going on I can only conclude that the Files app is now worse than it was on my M1 iPad Pro as it doesn't seem to want to copy at all anymore. I haven't used the Files app in months on the M1 iPad Pro either so it might be an iPadOS 17 thing.

I'm on the latest beta version of iPadOS 18, but I've seen the progress circle throughout the duration of iPadOS 17... I've had no issues with copying anything in the Files app.

 

[okkibs]

Interesting, I cannot reproduce this behaviour now. I tap and hold on a folder and say copy, then I tap Downloads in the bar on the left contained within Favorites, and then tap and hold in the blank space in the middle and say paste. The folder appears immediately and I can open it, but it remains empty. The way you show it on your screenshot is how I wish it worked. I am on the latest iOS 17 with a brand new M4 iPad Pro. It's freshly setup and I haven't used it much yet. When you asked how it behaves that was the first time this week I even opened the Files app on this iPad.

And I do think just the fact that it works one way (very well) for you and another way (not at all) for me shows that the Files app isn't something I really wanna rely on with my daily workflows. Nowadays I use my sync client's app which has one really big benefit over the Files app, which is resumable copies. I can transfer a folder with thousands of small files and if I have to put the iPad in my bag and send it to sleep then the next time it wakes up the app will just resume copying where it left out even resuming within the same file so no progress is lost. Of course it works with my NAS too and can sync it over the network (on the go as well since we have a business VPN solution in place).