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iPad iPad Air: 32Gb LTE or 64Gb Wifi?

As a student that can only have one, which one should I pick?

  • Go for a 32Gb Air with LTE

    Votes: 25 52.1%

  • Go for a 64Gb Air with Wifi

    Votes: 23 47.9%
  • Total voters
    48
S

seble

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 6, 2010
972
163
The time has come to replace my 32Gb white iPad 2.
I'm a student, that uses his iPad for work (& play) for pretty much most of the day, with an iMac to come home to.

I can't decide whether I would be wise to spend my money getting an LTE iPad, (I'm in the UK by the way) so that I could access data on it if need be, or if I would be better off getting a 64gig tablet to store more stuff.

My iPad is practically full, but I do also have a 64gig 5S I'm just wondering if as apps for tablets get bigger and I might want to play more games on this one, that I'd be better off going for 64, and just tether to my phone when I need to?

What should I go for?
 
I'd go with the LTE flavor as it gives you the most flexibility.
 
I have a wifi version and just tether off my iphone if I ever need it. I believe that's cheaper on both fronts.
 
I think if you're around wifi 80% of the time then no on the LTE but if you say it's restricted then I certainly would add it. Space seems to be an issue for you though, that's a concern. 32 GB was really never a problem for me, ever, but I didn't store music on my iPad really.
 
Simples

Get the 64GB on to put all your stuff on, but this is only a small reason. Data costs tooooo much! From £7.50pm on contract!
 
I get along with just free WiFi. But everyone has different needs. I suggest the OP use their college education they're getting to help them decide what they want and need.
 
GoCubsGo said:
I think if you're around wifi 80% of the time then no on the LTE but if you say it's restricted then I certainly would add it. Space seems to be an issue for you though, that's a concern. 32 GB was really never a problem for me, ever, but I didn't store music on my iPad really.
Click to expand...

True, so far I'm swaying more towards 64gigs, would be nice to hold all of my music on my iPad but I often have my phone, but at the same time… so difficult to decide! haha

PicnicTutorials said:
Ahh. I believe I pay 20 or 30 extra for the tethering from AT&T
Click to expand...

At least in the UK on my network tethering is included, all 2Gb of my data (nothing)…
 
You guys surely haven't helped with the votes, 50/50 split so far!
 
Personally, for me the extra storage is more valuable than the cellular connectivity, but I have wifi at home, wifi at work, wifi in many tube stations (for free), wifi at school, pretty much wifi everywhere (admittedly, living in a big city like London is a big reason it's so widely available), and the times I don't are times I really can't imagine being so upset at not having wifi, and I believe I could tether in those cases.

My gen 1 mini is 32GB, my first iPad was 64GB and my latest Air is 64 - I found 32GB to be simply too small for my needs (especially if you like the games that can be over 1GB in size like me), I constantly have to manage apps, but the 64GB just is so much roomier and I've not had to do that at all with the bigger storage option. You can always buy a MiFi device if tether via your phone is too expensive or not allowed - I did that for my first iPad, and it was cheaper than the cellular option, plus it acted as a hotspot for up to 5 devices at the same time, including laptops if you have one of those too and might need to connect them as well.

Personally, I wouldn't give the telcos another monthly payment if there was any way I could do without the LTE, but that's a whole other reason for another discussion. :)
 
Personally I don't see the benefit of getting an LTE version of a tablet when I can tether it to my phone and get the same results. I pay an extra £5/month on my phone plan for the benefit. Compare that to the extra price of the tablet AND the plan you wish to use and the economics speak for themselves.

Alex
 
maflynn said:
I'd go with the LTE flavor as it gives you the most flexibility.
Click to expand...

I agree and I was in the exact same boat a few months ago. I wanted cell support but also wanted the extra storage. I went with the 32GB and cell support and I'm happy I did. Storage can be managed but once you decide against cell support then that's the end of that!

The cell support is like insurance: you don't need it until you need it. Then you're very glad to have it. ;)
 
bigdog5142 said:
I jailbreak my iPhone 5s and got a 64 gb Air. Best of both worlds. :)
Click to expand...

I have verizon and so I have free tethering and even so, I found it a pain to set up and run in a number of situations. It also killed the battery of my phone, so when I wanted to access the net on my non-lte mini it was not as convenient and easy.

A number of times while driving my kids wanted youtube/pandora, I couldn't stop driving just to enable the personal hotspot on my phone. On those occasions I did set it up, I was surprised at how quickly it drained my battery.

Since getting the LTE rMini (and giving the wifi mini to the wife), I now have the freedom and flexibility. It was definitely a good move and recommend it
 
kingalexthe1st said:
Personally I don't see the benefit of getting an LTE version of a tablet when I can tether it to my phone and get the same results. I pay an extra £5/month on my phone plan for the benefit. Compare that to the extra price of the tablet AND the plan you wish to use and the economics speak for themselves.
Click to expand...

If you're governed soley by economics, you'd not own a tablet at all. :D

"Same results" is debatable; you're ignoring the convenience factor. A cellular tablet is a much more seamless experience relative to tethering a wifi tablet.

Economics is also situational; for me, tethering would require giving up my unlimited phone data plan plus would cost an extra $20/month. Moving to a data-share plan would cost even more.

There simply is no single best-for-everyone answer to the wifi vs LTE question.
 
deeddawg said:
If you're governed soley by economics, you'd not own a tablet at all. :D

"Same results" is debatable; you're ignoring the convenience factor. A cellular tablet is a much more seamless experience relative to tethering a wifi tablet.

Economics is also situational; for me, tethering would require giving up my unlimited phone data plan plus would cost an extra $20/month. Moving to a data-share plan would cost even more.

There simply is no single best-for-everyone answer to the wifi vs LTE question.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I don't pay much for cell support at all on my iPad and it's great to have when I need it. I'm not into cell phones and all that stuff so there are no tethering options or whatever.
 
Well I took the plunge… and went for the LTE model. I thought to myself, well I survived with the iPad 2 on 32Gb for 2 years and I can manage space on that, long as I have all my music with me on my 64gig phone I'm not too worried! So it was settled, gonna be a proud LTE iPad owner! :)
 
Last edited:
seble said:
Well I took the plunge… and went for the LTE model. I thought to myself, well I survived with the iPad 2 on 32Gb for 2 years and I can manage space on that, long as I have all my music with me on my 64gig phone I'm not too worried! So it was settled, gonna be a proud LTE iPad owner! :)
Click to expand...

Good choice, that's how i do it..
 
The Doctor11 said:
If you have an iPhone you might as well get the 64 gig iPad so you can hot spot and get both 64 gigs and cellar data:D
Click to expand...

Ha my friend thinks I'm stupid for going for going 32gb, but it was about manageable before, and I'm just going off tethering if I'm honest. It murders my iPhone battery life, and ideally I'd like to not have to carry around a charger with me everywhere I go. This just makes things more versatile! We'll see in a few months if I regret the decision ;)
 
Wifi is becoming quite widespread, I'd go for the 64 gig wifi version simply because that's what I own and never, ever want for cellular network connectivity on it.
 
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