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Worth Going Cellular for iPad Pro?

Smeaton1724

Smeaton1724

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 14, 2011
836
806
Leeds, UK
So what are people's views, wifi or cellular iPad Pro?

For the last 2 and a bit years I have used an iPad 4, I think this time I'm going to jump in with cellular as I've found the tethering experience is ok but hits the iPhone for battery life. Currently data plans in the UK are also cheap.
 
Cellular. For a split second I toyed with the idea of an iPad Pro but I want the full experience.
 
I say yes. My last couple iPads had cellular data and Id never have one again without it. Pubic wifi is shady at best and when you want a solid, safe connection you cant beat 4G LTE. I say go for it. :)
 
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Cut and pasted from another thread, but relevant.

If you're someone who finds yourself away from wifi a lot (I am) but still like to use your iPad for spontaneous browsing and random use etc, a cellular iPad is leaps and bound more convenient than tethering. You just pick it up and away you go. Tethering is fine for long, planned, specific stretches of usage, but cellular has it beat for speed and convenience in all other scenarios. No switching on personal hotspot, no concern for phone battery life, handover/all emails etc immediately available on all your devices all the time.

I have a monthly rolling 10gb data plan on my phone and pick up EE, 90 day 6gb sim cards for my iPad for about £14.50 (so less than £5 a month). Any time I'm doing data heavy streaming for lengthy periods I tether, the rest of the time I use my iPad just like a phone, bar calls. The 90 day sims always last me 90 days, usually have about 1gb unused.

All of the above is largely irrelevant if you're rarely away from wifi of course.

Also of note, I hate using public wifi for multiple reasons.
 
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why get cellular when you can easily tether your data from your phone? usually cheaper to get data on phone and tether it for most people and carriers. right?
 
That's true, but after the initial outlay for cellular initially, I'm more than happy to pay less than £5 a month for an always online, instantly connected device without the need for switching on/off personal hotspot, phone battery drain or the horror of public wifi.
 
EdisEdward said:
why get cellular when you can easily tether your data from your phone? usually cheaper to get data on phone and tether it for most people and carriers. right?
Click to expand...

i use to tether and what i found out is....

1. the speed greatly suffers.
2. warms up your phone like crazy.
3. destroys battery life
4. reception issues

if you plan to take this iPad out of your house or out in about where you don't have access to wifi........always get the cellular model. I learned my lesson already.
 
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If you don't mind the $129 (plus being forced to 128GB), it's not a horrible idea. It also gives you GPS that opens up capability in some apps too, think Sky Walk.

I don't use iPads outside my home, but since I'm stuck on AT&T unlimited iPhone plan that doesn't have tethering, having another device with access to data on demand (I could pay right then) should say my home net provider go out for half a day, etc. can be useful.

Thet doesn't make a Wi-Fi model bad at all. They make a LOT of sense which is why Apple offers them and they are very popular.

I tended to go WiFi in the past. If I go 128 this time, I may add on the cellular because of the use case I mention above, having a back up internet solution in a land provider outage, etc.
 
Markiie said:
i use to tether and what i found out is....

1. the speed greatly suffers.
2. warms up your phone like crazy.
3. destroys battery life
4. reception issues

if you plan to take this iPad out of your house or out in about where you don't have access to wifi........always get the cellular model. I learned my lesson already.
Click to expand...

I've tethered over the last 2 years, first with an iPhone 5 (3G), iPhone 5s (4G) and now iPhone 6 (4G). The speeds since the iPhone 5s have been adequate but you destroy battery on both devices at once and the phone does get hot.

I'll be trying out the Cellular option with the keyboard and Pencil.
 
Since T-Mobile introduced $10 for 5Gb data plan, I got iPad Mini 3 LTE and then Mini 4 LTE. It is such a convenience NOT having to rely on my iPhone for hotspot. Just turn on the iPad.. BAM! Email, webpages, cloud apps and what-not all just work.

I used to tether and not only it kill my iPhone battery, the extra steps starts getting old. Turn on iPhone, go to Settings -> Wifi -> Hotspot, turn it on, wait until iPad find the hotspot, then start using the iPad.

I guess the cheap data plan is what made it worthwhile. T-Mobile also have a pay-as-you-go, though it's a bit more expensive ($30?).
 
striders said:
Since T-Mobile introduced $10 for 5Gb data plan, I got iPad Mini 3 LTE and then Mini 4 LTE. It is such a convenience NOT having to rely on my iPhone for hotspot. Just turn on the iPad.. BAM! Email, webpages, cloud apps and what-not all just work.
Click to expand...

Is the $10 for 5GB monthly? Can you lock that in, or is it promotional time only?
 
Yes, it's monthly. It was part of T-Mobile's plan to match your phone data plan. You must have their Simple Choice Plan (not pre-paid).

Login to my.t-mobile.com and check if you qualify.
 
I'm still on the fence if I'm getting a iPad pro of not but i would definitely be getting cellular because I have unlimited data on my air 2. It just sucks you have to get the 128gb just to get LTE
 
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I got the cellular model, but I think I might return it for WiFi only. This thing is larger than I expected, lol. I like the idea of just using it at home considering how bulky it is.

I might be crazy, but I might get an Air2 LTE for regular iPad things, and then use the Pro mostly for drawing or watching shows.

To foot the cost I'll be selling my old Mini2, Wacom Cintiq, and 2013 Macbook Air, so I think it should come out about even.
 
I have never had a cellular iPad before now. Verizon Wireless was running a deal where if you purchased outright, you could get $200 off a 128GB iPad Pro. I would say that it is rather nice being able to just shut off wifi and go. Since it was roughly $80 cheaper for me to get the 4G LTE version, it was an easy decision.
 
Every iPad I've had since the original has had cellular... Till I got the basic iPad Pro.

Rationale: I have a mini 4 and iPhone 6s with it I don't need another...

Less than a week later I'm swapping to at the Apple Store for a cellular. Even with that price difference it was worth it. It's an amazing device that was just crippled by not having it! Plus tethering you have to go in and connect to, it does not auto connect. So ignoring what everyone else has said as negatives, you can just grab the iPad and do something that requires Internet. Was soooooo frustrating. I'd be, what the hell, no emails? Then go, "oh" no internet...

Go cellular! Don't look back and don't ever go for just wifi!
 
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I'm on the other side. Had cellular before... went non-cellular this time and just tether. Cellular is convenient, but tethering only takes a second.

I think the extra cash for cellular could be worth it if you have it... but it's not a huge deal to leave it off either.
[doublepost=1454208308][/doublepost]Oh: I went for wifi only this time because cellular wasn't available when I got my iPP (like a week after launch).
 
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Yeah you have got to go cellular, makes the device so much more powerful in terms of what it can do and how totally mobile you are
 
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striders said:
I used to tether and not only it kill my iPhone battery, the extra steps starts getting old. Turn on iPhone, go to Settings -> Wifi -> Hotspot, turn it on, wait until iPad find the hotspot, then start using the iPad.
Click to expand...
If you leave Bluetooth on your iPhone turned on, you can activate your iPhone's hotspot from your iPad. You just go into your Wi-Fi settings and you'll see the option to connect to your phone. It'll automatically turn the hotspot on and connect to it, then disconnect when your iPad's screen is off for a minute or so to save your phone's battery.

This is ideal if you don't plan on using your iPad on the go too much as you can save quite a bit of money doing this. But if you plan on frequently using your iPad away from Wi-Fi, get the cellular model.
 
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For me, I think in convenience terms. Some days I might open up my iPad 15+ times in a day to search something on the Internet or perform a task that requires internet connection, then put it away. If I am tethering to my phone for each of those 15+ times that is time wasted waiting.
Also, you can't take calls on your phone and tether at the same time. The personal hotspot drops out and you will be left with no internet on your iPad.
 
I've decided that when I get my Pro it'll be cellular. For €2 I can get another sim, and I'll throw €10 credit on there for PAYG use. Most of the time I'll be on wifi, but on the occasions I'm not and don't want to tether, having that option will be fantastic. Plus when I'm working at other locations I can just spend €7 on 3GB of data for the month and know I'm set. I have a wifi only Air 2 right now - I wish it was cellular!
 
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