Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
Can you get a cable to allow an external drive and also be able to charge at the same time?
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With just a direct cable connection probably not. However you can use a good USB-C hub which has multiple ports and a power port. That is what I used. The hub was powered by a 65W USB-C charger. Since the hub only requires 20W for itself, that leaves 45W for charging the iPad and powering any connected device(s). My iPad Air 2020 came with a 20W charger, so my setup runs the hub plus still has more than double the wattage for charging the iPad, plus another 25W for connected memory devices. I'm not sure what the iPad Pro 2020 and 2021 models will require as far as charging but their specs state they also come with just a 20W charger. Bottom line, you need no more than 20W to charge the iPad, plus you need how ever much wattage the hub needs, plus whatever wattage the connected memory drive requires.
I think most flash/thumb drives don't require much power, nor do SD cards, so they don't typically require a powered hub to connect. External HDDs and SSDs might need to draw more current than the iPad can provide with a direct connection, so a powered hub might be needed for some of them.