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Marco123

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 14, 2012
693
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I am looking to purchase my first iPad and I'm looking at the 10.5 Pro but is it better to buy the Wi-Fi and use my iPhone to connect to cellular or should I purchase the cellular alone?
I'm thinking of putting my budget into more memory but I'm confused if I should put it into cellar instead.
Thanks.
 
Will you be using the iPad on-the-go often?
If yes, get cellular. If no, get wifi.

I have my mini 2 with LTE, and it's a joy using it everywhere I go without having to worry about hotspots.
I also have a 10.5 wifi. I mainly use it at home where I have wifi already.
 
I bought a cellular iPad for the GPS. Sure a phone can do that, but it helps seeing a larger map.

If it weren't for that I would have only bought a wifi model, as wifi is common in the area I live in, and I can link with my iPhone on the rare occasions it's not available.
 
I bought a cellular one to have it in case I needed it and never used the cellular function. But it all depends on your expected usage.
 
For the average person, save the money and just tether to your smartphone on those times that you need cellular service. If you are using the iPad for work and require constant high speed connections to cellular service then it might make sense to go with built in cell.
 
I've been grandfathered in on the original unlimited AT&T data plan from the original ipad, so i always get a cellular ipad when i upgrade. But even if i didnt have the unlimited plan, i'd still buy cellular, because i travel a lot, and i like the flexibility of always being connected. My ipad has replaced my laptop as my main device, so its important to me. If i was always at home, perhaps i'd think about getting a wifi only ipad. I guess its up to you and how you use your ipad. Only you can really answer that.
 
I had a cellular iPad and my usage away from any sort of wifi availability was almost non-existant. I chose the wifi model of my most recent iPad purchase.
 
The price difference between the two always made me go with the WiFi only model. Spending $200-$300 more on the LTE edition isn't worth it ..... mainly because I never if ever use it. I have strong WiFi at work, home, college, church, hotels, parent's house, friend's houses, starbucks, etc..... If I ever did need WiFi I just spend 5 seconds turning on a hotspot on my iPhone and bam, good to go. I'll maybe do this 2-3 times out of the year.

I was given an LTE iPad Mini 2 from Amazon by accident (they told me to keep it) for the price of WiFi. In the end it became more of a hassle because it was eating data from my family plan and spending $10/mo + tax just didn't seem worth it for something I didn't use.
 
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My Mini 4 rarely ever leaves the house, so I always opt for wifi only. For the times that I take it when traveling, I generally download songs/movies/tv shows locally to the iPad the day prior to traveling. Usually most of the hotels I stay at have wifi, if not I simply tether to my iPhone.
 
Like someone else stated, will it stay @ home or be mobile ? If the latter, I'd recommend cellular if possible. Having used both wifi and cellular versions, wifi is a PITA if using away from home. Plus, tethering from the phone is another PITA and drains the phone's battery faster.

Another advantage of having a cellular iPad, is that the iPad can be the host and others can tether to it for internet access. Also, since the iPad has a larger battery, it'll last much longer!

Just my .02
 
Every iPad I have purchased I bought with LTE ... but this time with the 10.5 I went with Wifi. I upgraded the storage and can easily turn on the phone hotspot using my iPad.
 
I have an iPhone that my iPad can tether to, but WiFi is common enough that I rarely even use that. I’ve never regretted putting the money saved into doubling the storage. YMMV.
 
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Of course depends on your needs. I would say less than 5% of people would really get significant benefit from a cellular iPad*. Wifi is so common everywhere and in on-the-go scenarios I'll almost certainly be using my iPhone anyway. On the rare occasion that I don't have wifi, but really want to use my iPad then it's super easy to connect it to my iPhone. Saves not only $130 up front but also $15+ a month on data.

*This statistic is courtesy of my backside.
 
I have been having the same internal debate for weeks now and have probably read every thread on macrumors on this topic. Most everyone will tell you it just depends on your personal usage (which is true) so it's hard to gauge what to do based on the responses you will get here.

I have realized my problem is that i really want a cellular ipad because of the functionality and ease of use it can potentially bring to me for mobile computing / browsing etc...but I do not think I really need it. I have been using my wifes iPad Air at home but it rarely leaves the house. However, I won't know how much I would like an LTE ipad without trying it first. You can always cancel the data plan later (assuming you don't sign a 2 year contract) which is better than having to sell and buy a whole new iPad if you later decide you absolutely needed LTE.

For the above reasons I am most likely going to go with an LTE model. I just can't stomach paying $879 for the 256GB iPP at the moment and am waiting for the right deal. Yes you can get 0% finance thru a carrier but you will still pay full price with tax for a whopping $951.xx in my state.
 
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...
I have been using my wifes iPad Air at home but it rarely leaves the house. ... You can always cancel the data plan later (assuming you don't sign a 2 year contract) which is better than having to sell and buy a whole new iPad if you later decide you absolutely needed LTE.

For the above reasons I am most likely going to go with an LTE model. I just can't stomach paying $879 for the 256GB iPP at the moment and am waiting for the right deal. Yes you can get 0% finance thru a carrier but you will still pay full price with tax for a whopping $951.xx in my state.

Obviously you can do as you wish, but since you clearly are price sensitive AND admitted your current iPad rarely leaves the house, I don't really understand the justification of wanting/needing a cellular iPad. Just not having a data plan is certainly an option if you enjoy burning $130 + tax.

Do you get tethering on your iPhone? I haven't been keeping up too much with the various carriers, but I have free tethering included on T-Mobile. Even if it costs like $10/mo to enable tethering this would seem like the superior option for vast majority of people.
 
I've always liked the idea of 4G, but when I think about where I use my iPad out and about;-

Friends Houses - they let me on their wifi for free

University - campus wide free wifi, fast too!

Work - again, I'm on their network

Public - cafes, city centres etc all seem to have good wifi

Transit - public busses here actually have satellite wifi!

Unless you're on long road trips, on the move in the car - and not the one driving - or travelling on coaches across countries I'd say 4G could be given a miss. And the coverage might not extend to those areas too, which is something to consider.

That's my personal view and conclusion on 4G on the iPad. It might or might not be the same as yours. But most places are similar these days, and it might save you some $$$!
 
Obviously you can do as you wish, but since you clearly are price sensitive AND admitted your current iPad rarely leaves the house, I don't really understand the justification of wanting/needing a cellular iPad. Just not having a data plan is certainly an option if you enjoy burning $130 + tax.

Do you get tethering on your iPhone? I haven't been keeping up too much with the various carriers, but I have free tethering included on T-Mobile. Even if it costs like $10/mo to enable tethering this would seem like the superior option for vast majority of people.

The point isn't that I'm trying to find a way to burn extra cash. It's the fact that I see usefulness in having LTE that my wife's current iPad does not have. And that iPad willl never get used like and LTE model would because it simply is not as convenient to carry around an iPad and then worry about trying to connect it to random wifi networks or my phone (which does include hotspot btw) to get real use out of it. My phone is just quicker and easier for that. I have tried tethering and I just don't like the process and the phone battery drain.

Again, like I mentioned in my in original post...you can't know for sure if it is useful to you or not without trying it out. Which some may figure out within the return period and not waste any money at all. But I would be perfectly happy with spending the extra money to buy an LTE model and discovering later that it really isn't for me than to settle on a wifi model and wonder what if....
 
I have the Wifi model as celluar would be pointless to me. I just use Thethering on the phone or wifi spots when I’m away from home. I don’t get great signal anyways where I live, so half the time I don’t even get 4G.
 
Have always bought wifi only because public wifi is available around me a lot & on the odd occasions I've just used my phone as the hotspot.

Five years ago, I would have opted for cellular/Wi-Fi. Now, today, Wi-Fi is so widespread and free, it's widely available. It seems no matter where I go, there are even signs on businesses suggesting to use their free Wi-Fi. Years ago, I felt like businesses were so secretive about their Wi-Fi and not advertising it, but it's completely changed since then. It's almost a rarity to find a business or establishment that does not have Wi-Fi today.
 
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