iPadOS 18 Beta Lets You Format External Drives

Apple has introduced the ability to format external drives in iPadOS 18 beta.

The new feature was discovered by Kaleb Cadle...

Now in the Files app on iPadOS 18, when we right click or hold press on an external drive and select "Erase", new options appear for reformatting the drive. Currently, the format options here are APFS (with options for Case Sensitive or Encrypted), ExFAT, and MS-DOS (FAT), the same format options available in Disc Utility (with the exception of macOS extension formats which wouldn't make much sense for this feature on iPadOS).


Notably, this isn't the only new feature to arrive to the Files app in iOS 18. It also gains the ability to choose folders to 'Keep Downloaded'. It's still early in the iPadOS 18 beta cycle, so Apple could make additional changes before public release. Cadle suggests that Apple may introduce more Disk Utility features to the Files app like 'Restore' and 'First Aid'.

Developers have been seeded with the first beta of iOS 18 and we're expecting a second beta soon. Please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS for more updates!