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iPad Pro Whats the point of a WiFi Only iPad Pro ?

T

TheRealAlex

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 2, 2015
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Today I went to Fresh Market sat at their great cafeteria to have a snack. Took out my 9.7 Pro to do some notes and write down some invention ideas as they come to me. Lo and behold No WIFI its 2016 in a posh Fresh Market very upscale I was enraged. No need to fret flipped on LTE cell Data and I am connected at 20-40Mbps.

My question is as wonderful as wifi is, people forget how limited the coverage is and even if you can see a Network in range often and quite appropriately so it is private and secured. Which got me thinking who in their right mind buys a WiFi only iPad Pro model ?

How do you justify a WiFi only purchase ?
 
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TheRealAlex said:
Today I went to Fresh Market sat at their great cafeteria to have a snack. Took out my 9.7 Pro to do some notes and write down some invention ideas as they come to me. Lo and behold No WIFI its 2016 in a posh Fresh Market very upscale I was enraged. No need to fret flipped on LTE cell Data and I am connected at 20-40Mbps.

My question is as wonderful as wifi is, people forget how limited the coverage is and even if you can see a Network in range often and quite appropriately so it is private and secured. Which got me thinking who in their right mind buys a WiFi only iPad Pro model ?

How do you justify a WiFi only purchase ?
Click to expand...

Tether to my iPhone when needed.

Literally no extra cost for me (AT&T). I bought the cheaper wifi iPad and I always have my iPhone on me (certainly when I'm out of my house).
 
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I have free tethering on the few occasions I need it, but I'm a student - my entire campus (and a large portion of the city due to the number of institutions here) is covered for wifi thanks to eduroam (and I have wifi free anywhere there is eduroam which is useful). Plus it's 12.9", it's not like I'll grab it out of my bag in the 10 minutes I spend on the underground train in the morning. Post-graduation I'll consider going back to cellular devices (I did during my 2 year placement of my last degree and that was useful), but for now I'm 100% fine with wifi only.
 
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TheRealAlex said:
Today I went to Fresh Market sat at their great cafeteria to have a snack. Took out my 9.7 Pro to do some notes and write down some invention ideas as they come to me. Lo and behold No WIFI its 2016 in a posh Fresh Market very upscale I was enraged. No need to fret flipped on LTE cell Data and I am connected at 20-40Mbps.

My question is as wonderful as wifi is, people forget how limited the coverage is and even if you can see a Network in range often and quite appropriately so it is private and secured. Which got me thinking who in their right mind buys a WiFi only iPad Pro model ?

How do you justify a WiFi only purchase ?
Click to expand...

I use cellular when I have too but it sucks in speed compared to my WiFi at home and office. People who just use their iPad at home and /or office have no need for cellular.

I think you are bragging and living is some fairy world while you are "writing down some invention ideas"! LOL!

I do not think alex is real.
 
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I LOVE iPad with cellular, but I won't get a LTE one without unlimited data plan.
If I only had limited plan, I'd use my phone to tether.
 
Can't tether on Unlimited Data with AT&T. Never had a cellular model until the Pro but figured i'd give it a shot considering T-Mobile has the free data offer, free MLB.TV, unlimited data for tablets(just pay for as much high speed you need), and binge on. I think I'll be making good use of it in my car on my lunch breaks this summer as the parking lot has no Wifi networks.
 
TheRealAlex said:
Today I went to Fresh Market sat at their great cafeteria to have a snack. Took out my 9.7 Pro to do some notes and write down some invention ideas as they come to me. Lo and behold No WIFI its 2016 in a posh Fresh Market very upscale I was enraged. No need to fret flipped on LTE cell Data and I am connected at 20-40Mbps.

My question is as wonderful as wifi is, people forget how limited the coverage is and even if you can see a Network in range often and quite appropriately so it is private and secured. Which got me thinking who in their right mind buys a WiFi only iPad Pro model ?

How do you justify a WiFi only purchase ?
Click to expand...
I bought a 128GB wifi 12.9' Pro.

No need for the extra £100 for a 4G model, when I get 20GB of tetherable data on my phone every month.
 
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jermy4 said:
My iPad lives at home over 90% of the time and the other 10% is usually when traveling and what hotel doesn't have wifi?
Click to expand...
The question should be: what hotel does not have FREE wifi? There are quite a lot, although even high-end hotels are starting to realize that wifi is like water, you cannot charge extra.
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Simacca said:
You can always use your mobile phone as a hotspot if there's no wifi. Saves having another data plan.
Click to expand...
The nice thing of LTE on the iPad is that it's alway connected. Perhaps an expensive convenience for $130, but personally I think it's worth it.

Another practicality is that mobile hotspot eats battery.
 
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I have a wifi iPad for home and a iPhone 6+ With the unlimited data plan for outside of the home. No need for extra service fees or the increased price of the LTE devices. Works perfectly for me.
 
My 256GB pro is my first cellular iPad. Granted it's only been a few days but haven't had to use it yet.
 
I use my iPP 12.9" wifi only at home and at work. Both places have wifi so no need to have LTE. If I ever need Internet when I'm out and about, I use my iPhone. Easy and cheaper.
 
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I use mine at home 95% of the time, and the things I would use it for abroad wouldn't require internet access that second. You can sketch, take notes, read, etc without a connection to the internet, then do what you need to do (such as uploading to cloud, etc) once you're in range. I see no reason to pay considerably more (and then monthly) just to be connected 99% of the time instead of 95% of the time.
 
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ahostmadsen said:
The question should be: what hotel does not have FREE wifi? There are quite a lot, although even high-end hotels are starting to realize that wifi is like water, you cannot charge extra.
Click to expand...
Funny you should mention that. All hotels I've been to recently have free wifi. However, the speed was so slow that if you actually wanted something useable, you'd need to upgrade at $10/day to their "Premium Wi-Fi".
 
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Tethering to my iPhone's personal hotspot has never been an issue. I usually choose this option for my iPad & MacBook even when a public wifi network is available (safer).
 
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rui no onna said:
Funny you should mention that. All hotels I've been to recently have free wifi. However, the speed was so slow that if you actually wanted something useable, you'd need to upgrade at $10/day to their "Premium Wi-Fi".
Click to expand...
I see, that's the trick. They advertise free WiFi, but then make it so slow that it's useless.
 
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