iPad mini iPad Mini as a giant iPhone?

[Bearygoodfries1]

Hi everyone,

I’m just curious if anyone here has tried using their iPad Mini as an iPhone alternative?

Using the iPad Mini as a giant iPhone.

If so, any tips, advice, concerns, etc?

Thanks!

 

[chabig]

There is no Phone app on an iPad. If you can get by with FaceTime, WhatsApp, Messenger, Skype, and the like, then it'll work fine.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Doesn’t work with Apple Watch
Doesn’t work with CarPlay
Can’t SMS or make/receive normal phone calls

As an “iPhone replacement” it just doesn’t work. As an “iPhone alternative”… well, it still doesn’t work >for me< but maybe for some.

 

[JPack]

Do you need an earpiece?

Do you need to use iPhone-only apps like WhatsApp?

Do you want good photo quality? iPad mini uses the camera sensor from iPhone 8.

Do you use AirTags and want Precision Finding? Only available on iPhone.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

 

[Richard8655]

A phone app I use on my iPad is Google Voice, though my iPad isn't cellular and uses my home WiFi to make/receive calls. I believe GV can also make phone calls over the internet with just a cellular data plan, which a cellular iPad would have.

I've considered getting a cellular Mini instead of the latest iPhone for this same reason. I'd like the larger screen real estate.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Been doing this for upwards of a decade (Mini 2 and now Mini 6). Works great. Buds with Mic for voice calls (not holding it up to an ear), Messages for texting with Apple people, VOIP app for texting with non-Apple people. Nobody on the other end can tell and I appreciate having the bigger screen for all apps.

iPad mini cellular service cost can be as little as $25/year for continuous 5G. Yes, that's YEAR.

Google Voice is one of many VOIP apps in the store. I've been using it for the last few years because the "obihai" devices make it possible to use GV with traditional landline setups too. In short: when my iPad "rings" my home phones ring too. When I want to make a GV call, I can do it on my iPad or on my home phones. GV also has a web interface, which makes my Macs "phones" too. GV annual cost for local & long distance for U.S. and Canada: $0/yr.

When I had Comcast Voice service, their VOIP app worked great too. I've also used Talkatone and it is a very capable talk and texting VOIP app too. There are others in the App Store.

For the doubters/denyers, anyone can try VOIP apps on iPhone or any iPad (wifi or cellular) right now. They will generally give you a free number. Text yourself at your current number and vice versa to see texting work. Call yourself and vice versa. iPad mini will "ring" when called. Texting works the same.

If you like it, you can port your number to replace the freebie provided by the VOIP app.

There are not many downsides:

• Obviously not as pocketable
• If you like any Apple device dependent on iPhone (CarPlay, Watch), this requires a hack for CarPlay and perhaps a traditional watch? Or just use your iDevice for watch app functionality... as we all did BEFORE Watch.
• Cameras are superior on deluxe iPhones
• E911 vs. 911 for emergencies
• No "vibrate" mode for incoming call notices.
• While iPad has Apple Pay, pay for things (click/touch to pay) with an iPad is not the same
• No satt emergency option

In turn, iPad tends to not feel "long in tooth" as fast as iPhone, so you can get more years out of one. Cellular costs a LOT less than iPhone. So total cost over time is so much less, you save enough money for other Apple hardware from the pool that would have otherwise been keeping up with iPhone upgrades every few years.

Is this for everyone? No, nothing is for everyone. But- all things considered- iPad Mini can be a great stand in as a cell phone too. The biggest hurdle tends to be a simple one: "think different."

And the proof for anyone interested is only some VOIP app downloads to whatever you have now so you can see and hear for yourself. I encourage anyone remotely interested to download a free VOIP app and simply experience it.

FYI: VOIP apps work on Macs too, so your Mac can be a phone too. Like turning an iDevice into a flashlight with an app, or a tape measure, or a map, or an iPod, Telephony is just another app. I was making a Mac laptop stand in as a mobile phone way back into the early 2000's using Skype's "call mobile or landline" feature. That worked/works just fine too. Various VOIP apps today can make Macs stand in as "phones" too.

 

[Boil]

Apple needs a bulletproof folding device that is a combo of an iPhone Pro Max and a Pro variant of the iPad mini...?

 

[rui no onna]

Doesn’t work with Apple Watch

Aren't they changing this on iPadOS 17?

Can’t SMS or make/receive normal phone calls

Not natively but VoIP (e.g. Google Voice) usually works for those.

Mind, there are still some issues with VoIP like 911 and SMS short codes (e.g. 2FA codes from financial institutions). Plus, call quality is sometimes iffy.

Personally, I still keep an iPhone SE3 for wifi calling and SMS forwarding. I've forgotten my iPhone at home several times and my cellular iPad mini 6 worked seamlessly for calls and SMS during those times.

 

[dgdosen]

I have a google voice number attached to a mini. Useful to use as a 2nd/business line to screen calls. Works fine as a speaker phone...
YMMV

 

[sparksd]

Aren't they changing this on iPadOS 17?

It appears to have been just a rumor.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-pairing-an-apple-watch-with-an-ipad.2393962/

 

[oneMadRssn]

Messages for texting with Apple people, VOIP app for texting with non-Apple people.

Without an iPhone, is it possible to have it so that iPhone users sending texts your VOIP number are routed through iMessage instead of regular SMS? Or do you need to tell all your iPhone friends to text your email instead of your phone number?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Without an iPhone, is it possible to have it so that iPhone users sending texts your VOIP number are routed through iMessage instead of regular SMS? Or do you need to tell all your iPhone friends to text your email instead of your phone number?

If the former, first text will arrive in VOIP APP. Then I reply in Messages and the chat carries on in Messages.

If I text them in Messages, we chat in Messages.

If they want to text me in Messages, yes, it’s email address instead of phone number. This is an Apple limitation because for a good while after my number ported it could work on phone number just like iPhone. At some point, they cut that off, presumably to please the cellular service partners (else iPod Touch could have been a cheap iPhone too).

Generally friends leave conversations open, so they just pick up from last text vs. creating brand new ones.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Aren't they changing this on iPadOS 17?

Not that I’ve seen… nothing on Apple’s site about it that I’m seeing, at any rate.

I love my iPad mini, I’m typing this on it right now and I’d love to not have to carry my iPhone around. The only things it’s really doing for me are Camera, CarPlay, and audio source. Frankly I’d love my Apple Watch to be my primary device for all those but the camera, and the hardware is certainly capable of it. But of course if they enabled all that, my battery life would be in single-digit hours 🤣

 

[Richard8655]

For anyone thinking about using a cellular iPad as an alternate phone, I couldn't recommend the Google Voice app more. In my case, my GV phone number is my primary mobile and home phone number and contact. Works not only on all my iPads, but all my traditional wall-connected home phones as well (via Obihai OBi200 telephone adapter). Anyone calling rings the home phones and all iPads (connected via WiFi), allowing answering on any of them (iPhone too with GV app installed).

So eventually for traveling, I may ditch my aging 2016 iPhone SE and just go with the latest cellular iPad Mini (smallest display size that can easily travel). No cellular phone or plan needed - just GV, cellular data plan, and the Mini.

 

[The Game 161]

Doesn’t work with Apple Watch
Doesn’t work with CarPlay
Can’t SMS or make/receive normal phone calls

As an “iPhone replacement” it just doesn’t work. As an “iPhone alternative”… well, it still doesn’t work >for me< but maybe for some.

Yep

all key areas that make the iphone experience so not having those is a massive no go.

 

[Richard8655]

I was seriously thinking of going this route (iPad Mini cellular) replacing my iPhone. But realized phone calls via internet using data is a lot more expensive vs. unlimited cellular calling packages. A regular iPad with tethering makes more sense for adaptability and needs. And the bulk of even the small form factor of the Mini for travel or outdoor activity isn't practical.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I guess that last post depends on where you are calling. My phone calls via internet using data cost $0/yr via Google Voice but I'm only calling within North America. For the rare times I need to communicate with someone outside North America, I "call" them for free through Messages, FaceTime, Zoom, Skype or similar. Thus, I haven't paid a nickel in telephone service fees to call ANYONE on planet earth in many years.

I actually think it is more expensive the other way. "Unlimited" cellular requires what is usually much greater cost for cellular connections than I pay ($25 per YEAR for 5G). I'm not aware of any unlimited cellphone plans that beat that price. I suspect most readers of this thread probably have iPhone and an unlimited cell service plan. If any have one that costs less than $25 per year, please post the plan specifics.

 

[rui no onna]

I guess that last post depends on where you are calling. My phone calls via internet using data cost $0/yr via Google Voice but I'm only calling within North America. For the rare times I need to communicate with someone outside North America, I "call" them for free through Messages, FaceTime, Zoom, Skype or similar. Thus, I haven't paid a nickel in telephone service fees to call ANYONE on planet earth in many years.

I actually think it is more expensive the other way. "Unlimited" cellular requires what is usually much greater cost for cellular connections than I pay ($25 per YEAR for 5G). I'm not aware of any unlimited cellphone plans that beat that price. I suspect most readers of this thread probably have iPhone and an unlimited cell service plan. If any have one that costs less than $25 per year, please post the plan specifics.

That kinda depends on how easily you can get free wifi. Also, that $25 pricing you’re quoting is specific to the T-Mobile $10/5GB/150 days plan and it’s only that cheap for light cellular usage.

If one doesn’t have easy access to wifi and doesn’t have good coverage from T-Mobile (so need to use a different carrier), free VoIP calls can get quite expensive in terms of cellular data cost.

You can get a $25/mo unlimited plan with Visible. If you use more than 12.5GB data per month (I regularly use ~50GB), that makes the unlimited phone plan cheaper.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Generally, all you shared is true. If one defines "light" as 5GB, then it is light cellular usage. I do have easy access to free wifi at work and home so I only really need cellular in between or when otherwise out & about. I've never run through 5GB (including with weeks of business & vacation travel) but- admittedly- that is being a data miser (for example, no streaming Netflix on cellular- I will simply wait until I have wifi for video streaming).

If I DID run out, I could immediately spend the $10 to buy another 5GB and fresh 150 days. In that "has never happened yet" scenario, my annual cost would be $35 instead of $25. If it happened a bunch of times, perhaps that gets to $100 in a year. The average "unlimited" plan in the US is about $113 per month. The average household plan for a family of four is $170 per month. Even that Visible plan at $25/month is $300/yr vs. what I would consider a crazy case usage for me at $100/yr (reality usage is in fact $25/year for me). So even the bargain Visible plan is $300/yr vs. $25/yr for my purposes... though that would look very different if I regularly burned through over 50GB in cellular data each month.

If someone doesn't have good access to T-mobile, there are many other options, not quite as cheap as that one, but not up at "unlimited" phone plan costs. So there is definitely tangible savings here for anyone interested. Just as there are Visible, Mint, Tracphone, Walmart-brand etc cell plans there are lessor name and nearly no-name cellular data providers too. If Tmobile ever kills this offering, I'll just find a data-only variant of a Visible-like offer from one of them.

If someone wants to consume very large amounts of cellular data away from free wifi, then unlimited offers can end up cheaper. I just don't really bump into the issue, albeit by choosing not to eat a lot of data via cellular over that 150 days. Since I am in wifi zones most of every day, when the 150 days expire, I don't always need to immediately renew either. I typically get at least a few weeks before I find myself in a spot where I absolutely need a 5G connection again. When that happens, I renew at that time.

Again, this is not for everyone. And there are compromises vs. iPhone and iPhone cellular plans (I list several in bullet form in an earlier post). But it works perfectly fine for me and saves a whole lot of money both on frequency of "needing" to upgrade the hardware and total cost of 5G service. Over several years, the savings becomes relatively substantial. Is that worth the compromises? That's a mind of the beholder question. For me? YES! For someone else? NO!

 

[Richard8655]

Along the lines of the above post.

I guess that last post depends on where you are calling. My phone calls via internet using data cost $0/yr via Google Voice but I'm only calling within North America. For the rare times I need to communicate with someone outside North America, I "call" them for free through Messages, FaceTime, Zoom, Skype or similar. Thus, I haven't paid a nickel in telephone service fees to call ANYONE on planet earth in many years.

I actually think it is more expensive the other way. "Unlimited" cellular requires what is usually much greater cost for cellular connections than I pay ($25 per YEAR for 5G). I'm not aware of any unlimited cellphone plans that beat that price. I suspect most readers of this thread probably have iPhone and an unlimited cell service plan. If any have one that costs less than $25 per year, please post the plan specifics.

Along the lines of @rui no onna, $0/yr via Google Voice (which I also use) is good, except you have to either have a WiFi connection or a cellular data plan if outside of any accessible WiFi signal. For my remote needs, I have a Tello $10/mo plan that includes unlimited calls and 1GB data. In my case when without WiFi, unlimited cellular calling makes more sense than pushing that 1GB cellular data limit ($6/mo data only).

That $25 per year 5gb cellular data plan doesn't sound like such a great deal to me. That limit has to include all calling and all internet access. And something you have to keep checking and increasing as needed when approaching that limit.

But the additional reason I'm abandoning the Mini as cell phone replacement is lack of portability. Most of the time I just need to have something I can just slip in the pocket when going to the store or for any errand. The Mini (even as small as it is) just doesn't do it. I suppose one could use an iPhone exclusively with Google Voice via WiFi or cellular data plan and no VOLTE calling, but that strikes me as impractical too.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

"All calling and internet access" NOT accomplished through wifi. For someone often removed from free wifi, this option is not as favorable. I just about live in free wifi so I sometimes have periods where I don't need 5G at all without feeling like I'm missing a thing.

Cellular data calls (and texting) do NOT eat much data at all. I run a business and travel for business and have never got close to 5GB. In my experience, 5GB is small for video streamers (on cellular) and heavy cloud users (music renters for example). Calls & texts use very little data. My dominant data eater is Safari.

Prior to this Tmobile plan, I did have a 1GB/month data plan and only ever bumped into that limit in one month over a couple of years (due to travel and sharing data with some others). When I did, I just immediately purchased another 1GB block as I could do with this 5GB if I ever bumped into that limit.

If I was an iPhone user, I'd probably be seriously on that Tello offer. $100/yr vs. what averages more than $110/month is also a BIG difference for iPhone users... especially over a couple of years.

I don't really "keep checking" (capacity usage) as I've basically trained myself to manage data use. It's pretty much habit now. And there's no worry at all about running out as I can just buy another block of 5GB if I ever do.

Portability is an absolute issue to this option. iPad Mini is NOT as pocketable (suit/coat pockets only). I tend to just tuck it under and arm if I want hands to be free... OR... leave it in the car and fully detach when I don't think I really need it. The world continues to turn if I'm not continuously connected every time I do that. We all should try that from time to time.

If there is ever an iPad Mini Fold/Roll/Other to potentially address iPhone-like portability, I'd be pretty interested. I'd also be very interested in iPhone Max cameras in an iPad Mini Pro... along with some of the other features referenced earlier in the bullet list of things that this option doesn't have vs. iPhone.

 

[Apple_Robert]

In regards to portability, a good sling bag will solve that problem.

 

[Richard8655]

"All calling and internet access" NOT accomplished through wifi. For someone often removed from free wifi, this option is not as favorable. I just about live in free wifi so I sometimes have periods where I don't need 5G at all without feeling like I'm missing a thing.

Cellular data calls (and texting) do NOT eat much data at all. I run a business and travel for business and have never got close to 5GB. In my experience, 5GB is small for video streamers (on cellular) and heavy cloud users (music renters for example). Calls & texts use very little data. My dominant data eater is Safari.

Prior to this Tmobile plan, I did have a 1GB/month data plan and only ever bumped into that limit in one month over a couple of years (due to travel and sharing data with some others). When I did, I just immediately purchased another 1GB block as I could do with this 5GB if I ever bumped into that limit.

If I was an iPhone user, I'd probably be seriously on that Tello offer. $100/yr vs. what averages more than $110/month is also a BIG difference for iPhone users... especially over a couple of years.

I don't really "keep checking" (capacity usage) as I've basically trained myself to manage data use. It's pretty much habit now. And there's no worry at all about running out as I can just buy another block of 5GB if I ever do.

Portability is an absolute issue to this option. iPad Mini is NOT as pocketable (suit/coat pockets only). I tend to just tuck it under and arm if I want hands to be free... OR... leave it in the car and fully detach when I don't think I really need it. The world continues to turn if I'm not continuously connected every time I do that. We all should try that from time to time.

If there is ever an iPad Mini Fold/Roll/Other to potentially address iPhone-like portability, I'd be pretty interested. I'd also be very interested in iPhone Max cameras in an iPad Mini Pro... along with some of the other features referenced earlier in the bullet list of things that this option doesn't have vs. iPhone.

Some great points and am in agreement with most. The typical $100+/mo plan is outrageous to me too. And agree with the portability issue. Yes, a sling bag (post above) or tuck under arm probably works ok for many. But I'm one to lose things if not on my person. But I can see how the Mini as phone might work given an affordable cellular data plan and convenient WiFi access.

 

[rui no onna]

Along the lines of the above post.

Along the lines of @rui no onna, $0/yr via Google Voice (which I also use) is good, except you have to either have a WiFi connection or a cellular data plan if outside of any accessible WiFi signal. For my remote needs, I have a Tello $10/mo plan that includes unlimited calls and 1GB data. In my case when without WiFi, unlimited cellular calling makes more sense than pushing that 1GB cellular data limit ($6/mo data only).

That $25 per year 5gb cellular data plan doesn't sound like such a great deal to me. That limit has to include all calling and all internet access. And something you have to keep checking and increasing as needed when approaching that limit.

But the additional reason I'm abandoning the Mini as cell phone replacement is lack of portability. Most of the time I just need to have something I can just slip in the pocket when going to the store or for any errand. The Mini (even as small as it is) just doesn't do it. I suppose one could use an iPhone exclusively with Google Voice via WiFi or cellular data plan and no VOLTE calling, but that strikes me as impractical too.

I just tried making a Google Voice call on my iPad mini this morning (Google Fi data-only SIM - T-Mobile network). I couldn't connect because of poor internet. When I checked speedtest, download was OK but my upload ping was 1871 ms.

Meanwhile, regular voice calling using the Google Fi iPhone worked just fine and was very clear.

I need Verizon for VoIP to be a viable solution but in that case, iPad data-only plans become just as expensive as iPhone plans with unlimited everything.

Also, iirc, cellphones have access to emergency calling even when there's no SIM as long as cellular coverage is available. You don't get that option on the iPad.