Last updated at 2pm CST on 7 May 2021.
I'm just curious what others are experiencing for READ/WRITE speeds on external memory devices (SD cards, flash drives, SSDs, etc.) when they are connected to an iPad Pro 2020/2021 model or the iPad Air 2020.
The iPad Air 2020 has an estimated 5Gbps speed limitation which is about 625MB/s maximum transfer rate due to the USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 1) port. iPad Pros use a USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2) port that has an estimated 10Gbps speed limitation which is about 1250MB/s maximum transfer rate.
However, I think we all realize that manufacturers's statement like "up to 'x' MB/s" typically refer to READ speeds only--the speed an external memory device can show while copying a file residing on itself to the iPad. WRITE speeds tend to be much slower--the speed an external memory device can show while receiving a file from the iPad. We also know their READ/WRITE "up to" speeds are the theoretical higher end limits, and that actual speeds tend to be slower, often much slower, and vary per file type, size, numbers, etc. Bottom line, we shouldn't expect an external USB-C drive rated at 550MB/s by the manufacturer to deliver anything near that when it is connected to an iPad Pro or Air 4.
So anyway, I’m just curious what you folks are experiencing as far as speeds. I’ve tested out three external memory devices with my iPad Air 2020 and with my MacBook Pro 15" Retina 2014. The speeds are not stellar, no where near the "up to" speeds listed by the manufacturers, but they do seem fairly usable as far as a portable iPad is concerned. If I used my iPad as a laptop replacement, then not so much, but to occasionally transfer image and video files, well it works and it isn't as slow as me or grandma!
BTW, I tested my flash drive with ExFAT format and found it was excruciatingly slow. I read that reformatting it to APFS should help, so I did, and that pretty much doubled the READ and WRITE speeds. I'm only using that flash drive to transfer between Apple devices, so APFS is okay, but my SD cards and and SSD drive needed to stay with ExFAT since I occasionally use them with Win 10 too.
Tested Devices:- SD Card: SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Memory Card (ExFAT format). According to Sandisk, "Read speeds of up to 95MB/s; write speeds of up to 90MB/s. Video Speed : C10, U3, V30."
- Flash drive: SanDisk 128GB USB-C USB 3.1 Flash Drive (APFS format). According to SanDisk, "Sequential Read: Up to 150MB/s."
- Flash drive: Samsung 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive (APFS format). According to Samsung, "Sequential Read: Up to 150MB/s."
- SSD drive: Samsung T5 2TB V-NAND USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 External SSD Drive (APFS format). According to Samsung, "Transfer speeds up to 540MB/s."
- SSD drive: Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA Internal SSD Drive (APFS format). It is being used externally. According to Crucial, "Transfer speeds up to 560MB/s."
- SSD drive: Sandisk 256GB USB 3.0 External SSD Drive (APFS format). According to Sandisk, "Transfer speeds up to 440MB/s."
Note: To test these with my iPad Air 2020 I used a Anker USB-C Hub, PowerExpand+ 7-in-1 USB-C Hub Adapter with an Amazon Basics 65W One-Port GaN USB-C Wall Charger to make sure the SSD drive had plenty of power. (The hub takes 20W leaving 45W for the drives.) Each device was tested separately using this combo, and each was the sole device connected. To test them on my MacBook Pro I plugged them directly into its ports, one at a time.
The test file was a 1.07GB .mov video file created using a command line in the Terminal app on my MacBook Pro.
iPad Air 4 Transfer Speeds (listed best to worst)
IPad Air 4 with Samsung T5 2TB USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 External SSD Drive (APFS format)- READ speed = 195 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 195 MB/s
2020 iPad Pro 12.9 256GB with Crucial MX500 2TB External SSD Drive (APFS format)- Submitted by ilovejedd.
- READ speed = 217 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 166 MB/s
iPad Air 4 with Sandisk 256GB USB 3.0 External SSD Drive (APFS format)- READ speed = 178.3 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 48.6 MB/s
iPad Air 4 with Samsung 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive (APFS format)- READ speed = 85.6 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 28.5 MB/s
iPad Air 4 with SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Memory Card (ExFAT format)- READ speed = 67.7 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 9.8 MB/s
iPad Air 4 with SanDisk 128GB USB 3.1 Flash Drive (APFS format) - READ speed =89.2 MB/s
- WRITE speed =2.8 MB/s
iPad Air 4 with PNY 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive (APFS format)- READ speed = 23.3 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 2.9 MB/s
Note: iPad Air 2020 test results indicate the Samsung T5 2TB USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 External SSD Drive has the best READ/WRITE speeds of the drives I’ve tested so far, barely beating the Crucial MX500 2TB.
MacBook Pro Transfer Speeds (listed best to worst)
MacBook Pro with Samsung T5 2TB USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 External SSD Drive (APFS format)- READ speed = 357 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 357 MB/s
- Blackmagicdesign: READ = 426 MB/s
- Blackmagicdesign: WRITE = 417 MB/s
- ATTO Disk Benchmark: READ speed = 419 MB/s
- ATTO Disk Benchmark: WRITE speed = 435 MB/s
2020 M1 MacBook Air 8GB/512GB with Crucial MX500 2TB External SSD Drive (APFS format)- Submitted by ilovejedd.
- READ speed = 303 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 315 MB/s
MacBook Pro with Sandisk 256GB USB 3.0 External SSD Drive (APFS format)- READ speed = 324 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 86.3 MB/s
- Blackmagicdesign: READ = 398 MB/s
- Blackmagicdesign: WRITE = 18.2 MB/s
- ATTO Disk Benchmark: READ speed = 386 MB/s
- ATTO Disk Benchmark: WRITE speed = 184 MB/s
MacBook Pro with SanDisk 128GB USB 3.1 Flash Drive (APFS format)- READ speed = 110 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 69 MB/s
MacBook Pro with SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Memory Card (ExFAT format)- READ speed = 90.7 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 67.7 MB/s
MacBook Pro with Samsung 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive (APFS format)- READ speed = 123 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 30.7 MB/s
MacBook Pro with PNY 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive (APFS format)- READ speed = 24.6 MB/s
- WRITE speed = 5.5 MB/s
Note: 2014 MacBook Pro test results indicate the Samsung T5 2TB USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 External SSD Drive has the best READ/WRITE speeds of the drives I’ve tested so far, barely beating the Crucial MX500 2TB.