iPad Should I swap iPad Air 2 Wifi for LTE / 4G?

The GPS alone is worth it, IMO.

ZBoater said:

The GPS alone is worth it, IMO.

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This. I thought long and hard about going non cellular this round but ultimately I couldn't do it. The convenience of a network connection trumps the extra cost. I also pay the ten bucks a month to have it in my family share plan on AT&T.

It all depends on how much you think you'll ever need the cell option. If it's only a couple of times a year or only a bit here and there it might not be worth it.

But if you travel much, need good GPS, or plan to take your iPad out and about a lot, then yes, it's well worth the investment. Even if you have free wifi everywhere you need to remember that those connections are never secure and usually really slow.

Personally I will never buy a tablet with wifi only because I find I do take my iPad on a lot of trips and even find it nice to use while waiting for my grandson while he's at his OT sessions.

Money is always an issue or it wouldn't be "scarce." As you note, you don't want to waste it.

So it comes down to need. Do you need cellular or GPS? Think about if it would come in handy in your current routines -- daily, weekly, monthly, whenever. Then you can figure out if its worth the extra $.

If you can tether and have an iPhone then I'm not sure I see the value of the upgrade. I have cellular model myself but I can't tether b/c I have a grandfathered data plan which doesn't allow tethering.

The only caveat I can see is if you travel between London and the US. Then, with the new Apple SIM it might be useful because you can switch carriers depending on where you are w/ local data rates, not "rape me" international roaming ones. (EE and TMob).

Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Since you said money was not the issue....

I always try to go with the LTE version. The couple of times I have "needed" it it's been nice to have, especially while traveling and I don't want to use the hotspot on my phone and drain my phone battery.

I also always try to go with the Cellular option.
But with ios8's instant hotspot, it is making my decision tougher.

Plus, the fact that they still insist on the ridiculous upcharge of $130 baffles me.

They can charge $100 less for ram (32<->64) but they can't make LTE a $30 - $50 option instead. It is something that probably costs them $10 more if that.

Profits.

I'm in the same dilemma. I have a mini retina wifi 32GB. I'm with ATT so it'll only be $10 month to share my 20 gigs.

ATT is offering $200 off any iPad with the purchase of an iPhone.

I haven't tried the instant hotspot feature on ios 8. How is the battery with that feature enabled?

The two iPads I have (an iPad 3 & a mini retina) are both wifi. I tether them to my android no contract phone when I'm out and about. If you already have a cell with tethering capacity.....forgo the LTE for wifi.