All iPads Cellular price difference between Air and Pro

[Unami]

I just noticed that ordering an iPad Air with cellular adds €170, whereas with the pro it is €250 more. Has this always been different? Do you think there is any technical reason for this or is it just Apple being Apple?

 

[rui no onna]

I just noticed that ordering an iPad Air with cellular adds €170, whereas with the pro it is €250 more. Has this always been different? Do you think there is any technical reason for this or is it just Apple being Apple?

In the US, it’s currently $150 upcharge for the Air and mini, and $200 for the Pro. Been like that since 2021 when the iPad Pros went 5G.

It used to be 5G mmWave Pro 5th gen-LTE Air 4th gen followed by 5G mmWave Pro 6th gen-5G Air 5th gen which sorta justified it but they got rid of mmWave this gen. 🤷‍♀️

 

[klasma]

I just noticed that ordering an iPad Air with cellular adds €170, whereas with the pro it is €250 more. Has this always been different? Do you think there is any technical reason for this or is it just Apple being Apple?

This is just Apple being Apple, there is no technical difference.

 

[*~Kim~*]

In the US, it’s currently $150 upcharge for the Air and mini, and $200 for the Pro. Been like that since 2021 when the iPad Pros went 5G.

It used to be 5G mmWave Pro 5th gen-LTE Air 4th gen followed by 5G mmWave Pro 6th gen-5G Air 5th gen which sorta justified it but they got rid of mmWave this gen. 🤷‍♀️

Same in the UK, £200 for the Pros and £150 everything else. I seem to recall a time when it was slightly cheaper on the Mini than the full sized models, but they probably realise that they're likely to be able to get away with charging the same since a Mini is more likely to be used on the go. It was a £140 upcharge when I bought it on the 6 in 2021.

If anything it should get cheaper now they save the expense of having to put in a sim tray - but of course they won’t unless cellular sales decline notably. eSim is far more limiting in certain markets than others yet the pricing doesn’t reflect this at all.

 

[rui no onna]

Same in the UK, £200 for the Pros and £150 everything else. I seem to recall a time when it was slightly cheaper on the Mini than the full sized models, but they probably realise that they're likely to be able to get away with charging the same since a Mini is more likely to be used on the go. It was a £140 upcharge when I bought it on the 6 in 2021.

That’s probably just due to exchange rate fluctuations. In the US, cellular for the Mini 6 was an extra $150 same as the Air 4.

If anything it should get cheaper now they save the expense of having to put in a sim tray - but of course they won’t unless cellular sales decline notably. eSim is far more limiting in certain markets than others yet the pricing doesn’t reflect this at all.

Yeah, eSIM-only is not ready for prime time across the globe.

The need to receive OTPs sent to the eSIM number for countries with SIM registration laws makes things worse since you can’t get SMS on the iPad.

 

[goobot]

Apple has to pay a percentage of the retail price of cellular models to Qualcomm so the more expensive devices are more expensive for cellular to prevent lost margins

 

[Unami]

Apple has to pay a percentage of the retail price of cellular models to Qualcomm so the more expensive devices are more expensive for cellular to prevent lost margins

That would explain a price difference.