Upgrade Questions

[Ferc Kast]

So, my mom is still using her iPad 2 on iOS 8 right now. Even though it will be supported by iOS 9, I figure its time will soon be over. As such, I was thinking gifting her iPad Air 2 in my signature, and getting myself a refurb Air 2 (space gray) 128gb w/ cellular. While initially thinking about this, I did have a few questions that I was unsure about:

1. Can she use it without doing Touch ID? (She isn't sold on the idea of the fingerprint scanner.)
2. Is it a fair assumption that with the improved wireless and A8x, her buffering times on Netflix and other media consumption apps should be significantly reduced?
   
3. For the cellular iPad that I would get, what type of plans are there? Are there, for instance, an "as needed / wanted" plan for a couple days at a time?
4. Does the new Apple Sim become locked after I initially choose a carrier? Or should I be able to switch between them just as easily that I imagine switching between the data plans is?

 

[ardchoille50]

So, my mom is still using her iPad 2 on iOS 8 right now. Even though it will be supported by iOS 9, I figure its time will soon be over. As such, I was thinking gifting her iPad Air 2 in my signature, and getting myself a refurb Air 2 (space gray) 128gb w/ cellular. While initially thinking about this, I did have a few questions that I was unsure about:

1. Can she use it without doing Touch ID? (She isn't sold on the idea of the fingerprint scanner.)
2. Is it a fair assumption that with the improved wireless and A8x, her buffering times on Netflix and other media consumption apps should be significantly reduced?
   
3. For the cellular iPad that I would get, what type of plans are there? Are there, for instance, an "as needed / wanted" plan for a couple days at a time?
4. Does the new Apple Sim become locked after I initially choose a carrier? Or should I be able to switch between them just as easily that I imagine switching between the data plans is?

1) Yes. I use an iPhone 6 and an iPad Air 2 on a daily basis and I do not have Touch ID or Passbook setup on either of the devices. The iPad will work fine without Touch ID.

2) Yes. I use the Netfilx app on my iPad Air 2 and I've not experienced any buffering problems.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Contact you carrier as they got all types of plans for devices like these. The cellular works rather good and has been very valuable for me out in the field.

 

[newellj]

So, my mom is still using her iPad 2 on iOS 8 right now. Even though it will be supported by iOS 9, I figure its time will soon be over. As such, I was thinking gifting her iPad Air 2 in my signature, and getting myself a refurb Air 2 (space gray) 128gb w/ cellular. While initially thinking about this, I did have a few questions that I was unsure about:

1. Can she use it without doing Touch ID? (She isn't sold on the idea of the fingerprint scanner.)
2. Is it a fair assumption that with the improved wireless and A8x, her buffering times on Netflix and other media consumption apps should be significantly reduced?
   
3. For the cellular iPad that I would get, what type of plans are there? Are there, for instance, an "as needed / wanted" plan for a couple days at a time?
4. Does the new Apple Sim become locked after I initially choose a carrier? Or should I be able to switch between them just as easily that I imagine switching between the data plans is?

1. Yes, you can completely ignore Touch ID if you wish.
2. I have a Mini 2 and an Air 2. I do not notice any difference in *streamed* content buffering between the two. I suspect (wild guess) that the issue is either her ISP bandwidth or reception/bandwidth issues between the iPad and her router.
3. Our iPads are on our Verizon Family Share plan so they use shared data with a $10 access charge per month, which works out very nicely. They were previously on individual month-by-month plans with 2 or 3 GB/month for $20/month each. Your carrier may charge fees for hooking up or activating a line, so make sure you ask about that.
4. Carriers seem to differ. Verizon SIMs (they have told me) are required to connect to their LTE system and cannot be used after the line is deactivated. I have read that AT&T SIMs also get locked to the carrier. VZW gives the sims away and I would guess other carriers do the same, but even if it's just the headache factor that comes into play here, you probably don't want to be turning service on and off repeatedly, much less switching carriers. YMMV, though...