This is thanks to USB On-The-Go support, really handy feature - can also use it to get a serial connection: https://trac.gateworks.com/wiki/linux/OTG

Not what the author is doing here, but you can also connect them over standard Ethernet. Any standard USB-C to Ethernet adapter will work with the iPad automatically.

Came as a surprise to me a few years ago when I first ran a that it.

Makes sense, I had simply never considered it.

Nice article on how to configure a RasPi into USB Ethernet gadget mode… doesn't really have anything to do with iPads. I guess it's good to know it works with iPads? It'll also work with Android devices, and plain old PCs… anything that accepts USB CDC Ethernet…

This article doesn't really focus on the details of the power, but I'll mention that the power requirements of Raspberry Pi 5 are a bit weird and this can have some implications when powering one from a limited current source.

Ideally the Pi5 wants 5V@5A, which is out of the capabilities of almost every USB PD supply and certainly not something that any iPad or any other computer can supply directly.

By default the firmware is configured for a 15W power budget so normally will work fine with a 5V@3A.

Only Thunderbolt iPads can supply this 15W; older USB-C ipads are limited to 7.5W and should not be used in this application without a power splitter. Pi zero 2W or similar would be a better fit if anyone wants to do this on older iPads or any other tablet that has limites current source capability.

Also this entire process probably also applies on lightning iOS devices using the camera connection kit and a power splitter as lightning can only source a couple of watts.

In case you're like me and were wondering how IP addresses are being assigned, apparently the NetworkManager's 'shared' IPv4 method starts dnsmasq, which acts as a DHCP server.

(It also enables masquerading (NAT) and IP forwarding, but of course that's not relevant in this context.)

This is super cool! The only down side I see is that USB inherently is less stable than ethernet I think. You more easily get USB disconnects, when that happens how would you fix it? Normally this involves a power cycle, or often more than a power cycle as the power has to disappear on the USB.

My potential use case however was pi to pi for remote deployed locations, likely battery for wildlife use cases.

Tech Craft: My Favourite iPad Pro Accessory: The Raspberry Pi 4 (November 2019) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR6sDcKo3V8

This is kind of the best way to do software development using an iPad. You can SSH or VNC into the Pi and then use all the tools available to the system. I've thought more than once about gluing a Pi to the back of my iPad so I can just take one device on longer travels and not have to take the iPad and the Mac (reason for the bringing the iPad is that all big streaming services typically have an iPad app that allows downloads, but no macOS app. I like having downloads for no / bad wifi situations).

I’ve done this for years via Bluetooth PAN or USB Ethernet. Notes here for both methods: https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2023/09/09/1820

Pretty interesting. The Turtlebot 4 educational robot also uses this approach to power/ethernet interface the Pi 4 and the microROS controllers that run on the roomba. Before seeing that a while back I would've never imagined it possible.