Apple Releases Lightning to SD Camera Reader With USB 3.0 Speeds on iPad Pro

[Mark Booth]

I have an older 30-pin (iPod Dock Connector) card reader from a 3rd party that accepts CompactFlash, SD Card, MicroSD, and also has a USB port to connect a camera. It's never worked with any of my iPhones but it did work with my older iPad 3.

Recently, I replaced my iPad 3 with a new iPad Air 2 running iOS 9.1. Much to my surprise, using Apple's Lightning to 30-pin adapter the 30-pin card reader works with my iPad Air 2. So, I wasn't planning to get Apple's Lightning to SD card reader.

However, the release notes for iOS 9.2 state that the Apple Lightning to SD card reader (the NEW one, that was just released) works with the iPhone! I installed iOS 9.2 on my iPhone and my 30-pin card reader (with Lightning to 30-pin adapter attached) does NOT work with my iPhone.

Now I'm concerned that if I upgrade my iPad to iOS 9.2, it won't work with my older card reader. Therefore, I decided to invest in Apple's new Lightning SD Card reader. Order placed, it's supposed to be here next week.

I'll first try it with my iPhone 6 and iOS 9.2. If it works smoothly there, I'll go ahead and install iOS 9.2 on my iPad Air 2 and try both the new Apple SD Card reader and my older 30-pin card reader (with attached Lightning adapter).

It will be interesting to see if the older reader continues to work with the iPad Air 2, but not with the iPhone. My guess is the older reader will stop working with the iPad Air 2 the moment I upgrade it to iOS 9.2. We'll see.

Mark

 

[maflynn]

Here is my workflow for stills: I shoot m4/3's, mainly Olympus OMD's & GH4's. On two short recent trips my wife and I took roughly 700 pictures on each trip. I shoot LF JPEG+RAW, so that is 1,400 pictures. I upload them to my iPad and do a quick cull. Any pictures that I want to share immediately I use one of a couple apps to do basic editing on the JPEG and send it off. I prefer to do work on my iMac and the beauty of Photos/iCloud is that those pictures are already on my iMac when I return home. Once on my iMac I can work with RAW and export any pictures that I want to to LR/PS or another file structure.

Interesting, that sot of work flow is pretty cool, but it seems you need sufficient iCloud storage to make that work

 

[driftless]

True. Sadly, I have Dropbox, iCloud and Google Drive accounts all for different reasons or because the people I want to share with only have either Dropbox or Google.

 

[manu chao]

What I'm saying is just that most people are going to use CF or the replacement XQD in their DSLR, while consumer point and shoots will use SD cards.
However consumers are not buying point and shoots as much anymore as most people stick with their phones instead. So that means there is really just 2 groups of people to target, those using their iPhone which has no storage card, or those using DSLRs like the flagship Nikon D4s or the flagship Canon EOS-1D X which use only CF/XQD cards.

Maybe that is how things will look like in ten years from now. But at the moment ILCs other the Canon or Nikon flagships still outsell the flagships by at least a factor of 100:1.

 

[jonstatt1]

Hmm...not convinced by this so called USB 3.0 speeds

Lexar 64GB 600x Speed

310 files, just over 5GB of data. iPad Pro, 3minutes 15 seconds
iPhone 6S Plus, 3 minutes 37 seconds

That's not the big difference I was expecting! Desktop PC Lexar USB3.0 reader, 60 seconds for the same data

I suspect that because it is many files rather than one big file, that the speed of transfer is dictated by the processing of the pictures more than the transfer rate itself.

 

[subjonas]

iOS will probably never have what you think of as a 'file system' and even though I am an IT professional and power user, I hope Apple stick to their guns on that vision.

The file system is as outdated as the DOS interface and even though it took people a while to embrace the GUI interface all those years ago, it happened. Apple have implemented very clever, and more importantly 'secure' ways to share files between apps so you no longer need to have copies of copies of copies of files everywhere. You can simply use whichever tool is best for any given scenario.

It's not perfect yet by any means but if Apple were to 'give up' and just give us access to the raw filesystem it would be a great shame. Fortunately they have shown many times that they will stick to their guns (eg. floppy drives, optical drives, non-removable batteries) and generally the rest of the world catch up with their thinking eventually. I'm sure this will be the same situation.

I'm not sure what your definition of file system is, but if you're suggesting users shouldn't be allowed to choose how to organize their data, and be able to group different types of files together according to project/subject/category, then I strongly disagree. Some probably don't need to, but there will always be a large base of people, mostly professionals, who will need a traditional file system.
This is what Steve Jobs had to say:

"...eventually, the file system management is just gonna be an app for pros and consumers aren’t gonna need to use it."
http://www.zdnet.com/article/do-mac-and-iphone-users-really-need-a-file-system/

It's not absolutely necessary for a lot of consumers, but for pros it needs to stick around. And it will. But it needs to be local. One shouldn't have to pay monthly to cloud services just to access their own data on their own devices.

Are you using the same iOS 9 as I am? Because Apple's system of "Open In..." generates endless copies of files, with no way to properly manage them.

Take this incredibly rudimentary scenario. I use two apps to edit a file (Because one is good at one thing, and another is good at another.) We'll say we are modifying a PDF file.

- Use dropbox to "Open In..." app A
- Edit inside of app A, "Open In..." app B
- Edit inside of app B, "Open In..." Dropbox

How many copies of the file are there now? The answer is 3. Dropbox has the latest copy, App B has the latest copy as well (identical to the dropbox version, unless you edit it on another machine) and app A has an outdated copy missing changes from app B edits.

In what universe is this simpler than having App A and App B able to access the single copy of a file on dropbox?

I would like to hear a response to this. I heard of iOS 8's document picker, which is supposed to remedy this duplication nonsense, but so far I haven't been able to figure it out. Perhaps the apps I use haven't adopted its functionality.

 

[craig1410]

Enough with the adapters Apple... Why not actually make these things in your product? The iPad Pro is certainly large enough for more ports than just a single lightning connector. Why not add a Thunderbolt, SD card, USB, etc. ports?

It's irrelevant how large the iPad Pro is and whether it could accommodate additional ports such as an SD slot. Most people, including myself, who have an iPad Pro don't need the SD card slot to be available all the time and only use it from time to time to upload photos. So, what's the big deal with having the SD adapter in your camera bag for such times? the lightning port on the iPad and iPhone is a very clever port which can reconfigure itself to support a wide variety of peripherals. Better to have the iPad just as it is and let people who need particular ports buy those adapters. Why should everyone pay for every type of port, most of which they will rarely or never use.

 

[craig1410]

I'm not sure what your definition of file system is, but if you're suggesting users shouldn't be allowed to choose how to organize their data, and be able to group different types of files together according to project/subject/category, then I strongly disagree. Some probably don't need to, but there will always be a large base of people, mostly professionals, who will need a traditional file system.

Obviously, every unix-based computer has a file system but I'm talking about whether that is made accessible to the user and what form it might take. Speaking as a computer professional with 30+ years experience I'm very comfortable dealing with the file system from the lowest level up but most people don't need this and are better off without it. Yes, you need to be able to save your documents somewhere and find them again. Yes, you probably need to organise them using a combination of folders, keywords, tags, date, location etc. but a typical user should not need to worry about partitions, devices, file permissions & attributes etc. They also shouldn't need to worry about syncing between devices and keeping backups.

What most users need most of the time (including myself and other power users) is a reliable way to store "documents" in the abstract sense and access those documents from whatever app knows how to deal with them. This is what the document picker is designed to do and although it's not quite perfect yet, it's pretty good and importantly it is very secure. This is the reason Apple have sandboxed apps - they don't want one stray app (though they do a good job of avoiding stray apps through the app store) from accessing sensitive files/documents/photos from another app without explicit permission from the user. So Facebook can't access details of your heart rate or what medication you take from the Health app (I'm sure they would love to if they could...)

Anyway, I suggest you take a look at the document picker and understand how it works. There's plenty of resource on the web for that.

 

[geoff5093]

It's irrelevant how large the iPad Pro is and whether it could accommodate additional ports such as an SD slot. Most people, including myself, who have an iPad Pro don't need the SD card slot to be available all the time and only use it from time to time to upload photos. So, what's the big deal with having the SD adapter in your camera bag for such times? the lightning port on the iPad and iPhone is a very clever port which can reconfigure itself to support a wide variety of peripherals. Better to have the iPad just as it is and let people who need particular ports buy those adapters. Why should everyone pay for every type of port, most of which they will rarely or never use.

This is my complaint. If you don't need it, don't use it, but why not include it for those that want it? No consumer wants to spend $40 for an adapter for everything they want to use.

 

[Michael Goff]

This is my complaint. If you don't need it, don't use it, but why not include it for those that want it? No consumer wants to spend $40 for an adapter for everything they want to use.

Since we're throwing extra things on there ... Why not a projector? Why not a USB 3 with the ability to hook up to a printer? I'm sure they could have fit everything in there, dealt with the heat, not lowered the battery size, and still kept it at the size it is.

I mean, just because you don't want to use your iPad Pro to project a movie onto the wall doesn't mean somebody doesn't want to.

 

[craig1410]

This is my complaint. If you don't need it, don't use it, but why not include it for those that want it? No consumer wants to spend $40 for an adapter for everything they want to use.

So in your opinion, all buyers of iPads should pay the extra cost of adding extra ports that they don't want or need just so that the few buyers who do want them don't need to pay extra for them? As a wise starship science officer once said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Or do you think that adding connectors and adding machining steps to the case and adding test cases to the QA program doesn't cost anything? Well speaking as an electronics engineer and former manufacturing process engineer I can tell you that it does. In fact, connectors and machining are quite expensive. Also, additional connectors are aesthetically ugly and tend to collect debris.

Oh, and the SD to lightning adapter is $29 not $40

 

[subjonas]

Obviously, every unix-based computer has a file system but I'm talking about whether that is made accessible to the user and what form it might take. Speaking as a computer professional with 30+ years experience I'm very comfortable dealing with the file system from the lowest level up but most people don't need this and are better off without it. Yes, you need to be able to save your documents somewhere and find them again. Yes, you probably need to organise them using a combination of folders, keywords, tags, date, location etc. but a typical user should not need to worry about partitions, devices, file permissions & attributes etc. They also shouldn't need to worry about syncing between devices and keeping backups.

What most users need most of the time (including myself and other power users) is a reliable way to store "documents" in the abstract sense and access those documents from whatever app knows how to deal with them. This is what the document picker is designed to do and although it's not quite perfect yet, it's pretty good and importantly it is very secure. This is the reason Apple have sandboxed apps - they don't want one stray app (though they do a good job of avoiding stray apps through the app store) from accessing sensitive files/documents/photos from another app without explicit permission from the user. So Facebook can't access details of your heart rate or what medication you take from the Health app (I'm sure they would love to if they could...)

Anyway, I suggest you take a look at the document picker and understand how it works. There's plenty of resource on the web for that.

Yeah I think I'll be taking a closer look at document picker soon.

I think we both agree that for a good number of people, the file system is an unnecessary tool and just adds complication in their lives. My argument is simply that there will always be a substantial subset of people who need it, so it can't go away completely. Granted, discipline and a degree of intelligence are required to organize and maintain a good folder structure--that's inescapable. But search can't be the only way to get to your documents for everyone. Sometimes you need to browse, or survey, not necessarily looking for a particular file or files. Sometimes you need a project and all of its files to be portable, contained in a folder. Sometimes you simply don't want to one specific app to have exclusive claim to a set of files. Etc. (It sounds like you agree with this to an extent, not sure. Again, it just comes down to definition of "file system".)
Whether or not a Mac-like file system comes to iPad, I don't have much of an opinion since in the current state of things I have a workflow that works for me. And like you said, iPad is already gaining file-system-like functionality with things like document picker. I'm commenting more on the notion I've heard that the file system should be phased out for everyone, even on Mac. If that day ever comes, I may have to revert back to the days of paper and ink. Or maybe I'll go Windows.

 

[geoff5093]

Since we're throwing extra things on there ... Why not a projector? Why not a USB 3 with the ability to hook up to a printer? I'm sure they could have fit everything in there, dealt with the heat, not lowered the battery size, and still kept it at the size it is.

I mean, just because you don't want to use your iPad Pro to project a movie onto the wall doesn't mean somebody doesn't want to.

Really? Do you not see the difference in mass appeal and cost of including a USB port or SD card slot versus an integrated projector? I'm not talking about including every little gimmick possible, I'm talking about including ones that other tablets include, and what many buy adapters for. Clearly a USB port would be great for those that want to connect a wired keyboard, camera, flash drive, printer, etc., and would make it more like a professional tablet like the Surface, which Apple is claiming it is. Most people use slim cases to carry around tablets, and needing to find space for multiple adapters is really inconvenient.

So in your opinion, all buyers of iPads should pay the extra cost of adding extra ports that they don't want or need just so that the few buyers who do want them don't need to pay extra for them? As a wise starship science officer once said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Or do you think that adding connectors and adding machining steps to the case and adding test cases to the QA program doesn't cost anything? Well speaking as an electronics engineer and former manufacturing process engineer I can tell you that it does. In fact, connectors and machining are quite expensive. Also, additional connectors are aesthetically ugly and tend to collect debris.

Oh, and the SD to lightning adapter is $29 not $40

Look at the profits Apple is making. Do you really think they couldn't eat the cost of adding a USB port? The cost of an iPad is so much higher than other Windows and Android tablets, even though it's far less productive.

 

[Michael Goff]

Really? Do you not see the difference in mass appeal and cost of including a USB port or SD card slot versus an integrated projector? I'm not talking about including every little gimmick possible, I'm talking about including ones that other tablets include, and what many buy adapters for. Clearly a USB port would be great for those that want to connect a wired keyboard, camera, flash drive, printer, etc., and would make it more like a professional tablet like the Surface, which Apple is claiming it is. Most people use slim cases to carry around tablets, and needing to find space for multiple adapters is really inconvenient.


Look at the profits Apple is making. Do you really think they couldn't eat the cost of adding a USB port? The cost of an iPad is so much higher than other Windows and Android tablets, even though it's far less productive.

Wired keyboard? Really? And the printer one is kind of funny because even if you could hook the printer to the iPad, it wouldn't do anything because the manufacturers don't make drivers for it for the iPad. But I guess in your magical world, it just works anyway.

 

[geoff5093]

Wired keyboard? Really? And the printer one is kind of funny because even if you could hook the printer to the iPad, it wouldn't do anything because the manufacturers don't make drivers for it for the iPad. But I guess in your magical world, it just works anyway.

Yes people actually use wired keyboards... It's not for someone who needs the keyboard covers, but the ability to plug in a keyboard for the rare times you need to write a long email would be useful. If they did decide to put a USB port on the iPad, it wouldn't be hard for Apple to create a driver stack like they do on OS X.

I really don't get the hate for having the OPTION to use a USB port. Apple is marketing the iPad Pro as a Surface-alternative, yet it lacks most of what the Surface actually has. If you don't need a USB port don't use it, but many would benefit from one.

 

[Michael Goff]

Yes people actually use wired keyboards... It's not for someone who needs the keyboard covers, but the ability to plug in a keyboard for the rare times you need to write a long email would be useful. If they did decide to put a USB port on the iPad, it wouldn't be hard for Apple to create a driver stack like they do on OS X.

I really don't get the hate for having the OPTION to use a USB port. Apple is marketing the iPad Pro as a Surface-alternative, yet it lacks most of what the Surface actually has. If you don't need a USB port don't use it, but many would benefit from one.

Because space is a premium in a device like this. And adding a USB isn't just outside thing. There is only a limited amount of internal space, and a lot of people don't want it wasted on something 5% of people will use.

 

[Mark Booth]

My new Lightning to SD Card reader arrived yesterday. True to Apple's word, it works fine with my iPhone 6. It's nice to finally be able to transfer photos from my digital camera to my iPhone.

I also updated my iPad Air 2 to iOS 9.2 and, much to my surprise, my older card reader solution (a combination of a 3rd party 30-pin card reader with slots for SD and Compact Flash and a 30-pin to Lightning adapter) continues to work with my iPad. The new Apple Lightning to SD Card reader works fine too.

So, I'm all set on all fronts with the exception that I can't transfer from Compact Flash directly to my iPhone (just to my iPad).

Mark