See full gallery on TechnoBuffaloApple has been keen to boast about how cutting-edge its new iPad Pro is, but one thing it forgot to mention is that its new Lightning connector is now USB 3.0-compatible. The Cupertino company confirmed the upgrade after a recent teardown revealed a USB 3.0 controller.
iFixit made the discovery during its customary teardown of the iPad Pro on launch day, but it wasn’t totally clear whether full USB 3.0 connectivity was actually enabled. Now Apple has confirmed to Ars Technica that iPad Pro is indeed USB 3.0-compatible. But there’s a catch.
To take advantage of USB 3.0’s speedy data transfers, which can reach up to 5Gbps — ten times faster than USB 2.0 — you’re going to need a few things. Those include a computer with a USB 3.0 port, and a USB 3.0-compatible cable, which aren’t yet available. (The cable that ships with iPad Pro is a standard USB 2.0 cable.)
Although you can’t really use USB 3.0 just yet, then, it’s nice to know iPad Pro is already compatible. When the standard become mainstream in the coming years, you’ll be able to backup your new tablet, and transfer files to and from it, faster than ever before.
That’s going to be super useful to those working with large files, such as 4K videos.
Source: Ars Technica,
