We plan on getting a ipad pro and mini 4 both with cellular. I plan to use the mini as phone too.
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WiFi vs Cellular, I'm stuck
- Thread starter Saberon2014
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I hope someone on this thread could offer me some advice on Wifi vs cellular as I have no experience with the cellular model.
A friend has asked me to purchase an Air 2 for her when I see a good quality used one on sale. She has no particular need for cellular, but I've seen a good quality cellular one on sale with a cost that's barely more than the Wifi only version.
I have a question about battery life. I understand that battery life will be lower when using the iPad over cellular compared to Wifi. But is there any reason to suspect (or evidence to indicate) that a cellular iPad with no SIM card installed (running over Wifi) will have lower battery life than a Wifi only iPad?
It never occured to me that the cellular iPad had GPS. Are there any iPad apps that provide good quality mapping and navigation offline? (there would be no immediate plans to install a data SIM, but offline mapping might be useful).
A friend has asked me to purchase an Air 2 for her when I see a good quality used one on sale. She has no particular need for cellular, but I've seen a good quality cellular one on sale with a cost that's barely more than the Wifi only version.
I have a question about battery life. I understand that battery life will be lower when using the iPad over cellular compared to Wifi. But is there any reason to suspect (or evidence to indicate) that a cellular iPad with no SIM card installed (running over Wifi) will have lower battery life than a Wifi only iPad?
It never occured to me that the cellular iPad had GPS. Are there any iPad apps that provide good quality mapping and navigation offline? (there would be no immediate plans to install a data SIM, but offline mapping might be useful).
Ladybug
macrumors 68000
My last ipad was cellular and I loved it, I used it out of the house frequently. However I purchased an iPad Air 2 about 2 months ago that never leaves the house so I opted to save the money and went wifi only. No regrets either way. Buy whichever suits your current needs.
I have my cell plan through Telus and only pay $5 per month. For the rare times I need to use the cellular capabilities, I turn on the function and then the data cost starts to add up. Since I rarely need to go online when I am not in range of a wifi zone, I don't often go over the $5. I find it's nice to have the option to use it when you need it. Since I don't have a smart phone, the iPad fills in nicely.
A cellular iPad won't use any more battery when on Wifi than a Wifi only one. You don't have to take the sim out, just go settings, cellular data, off.
joefrank64k
macrumors 6502a
I've had every iPad since the first and they've always* been cellular. When I buy the iPad Pro, it will be cellular, too.
*Well, I tried a wi-fi only iPad Air and promptly took it back for the LTE version. 🙂
Yes, I can tether to my 6s+ (and it does it "mostly" without my input) but it doesn't always work automatically, and then it's hitting my 6s+'s battery, too. Also, I want a GPS chip in my iPad. When I take it on the road, I want precise directions. Also, if for some reason it gets swiped, I want the Find my iPad to be as accurate as possible.
AT&T has given me a $100 bill credit if I agree to 24 months @$10/month in the past...that takes some of the sting out of the data plan. YMMV, IMHO, etc!! 😀
*Well, I tried a wi-fi only iPad Air and promptly took it back for the LTE version. 🙂
Yes, I can tether to my 6s+ (and it does it "mostly" without my input) but it doesn't always work automatically, and then it's hitting my 6s+'s battery, too. Also, I want a GPS chip in my iPad. When I take it on the road, I want precise directions. Also, if for some reason it gets swiped, I want the Find my iPad to be as accurate as possible.
AT&T has given me a $100 bill credit if I agree to 24 months @$10/month in the past...that takes some of the sting out of the data plan. YMMV, IMHO, etc!! 😀
Well I finally made my order....for the WiFi + Cellular. It was a bit more than I was wanting to spend, but I'd kick myself every time I needed LTE and couldn't access it.
Thanks everyone who responded, I really wasn't expecting a 3 page thread out of this.
Thanks everyone who responded, I really wasn't expecting a 3 page thread out of this.
oneMadRssn
macrumors 603
I got the cellular ipad pretty much because of the free 200MB/month plan on TMobile. Most months I don't use a single MB, but sometimes when I travel it's nice to have to catch up on emails or read some news sites without worrying about finding public wifi. And hey, it's free. I figure if I ever need more than 200MB, tmobile sells one-time data packs, though I haven't needed to do that yet.
I went with wifi only, I had a 1st gen mini and we never used the cell service, we have until Jan 8th to see if we want to exchange for cell or not.
QuietFun
macrumors regular
This is a really interesting thread to me. My very first iPad (32gd iPad 2 cellular) was purchased with travel and GPS in mind. The gps played a major factor in my decision. I never used the cellular function and never really used the gps, but the idea of find my iPad sounds like a great reason. Do any of you happen to know if it is a "real" gps inside the cellular versions. And out of curiousity, does the cellular versions weight more?