I’m the minority here. Only iPad I have ever owned was a mini that was gifted to me in 2015. If the iPad OS is ever more like MacOS I would for sure buy one most likely only a wifi as it would be home use.
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All iPads Do/did you buy your iPad(s) with Cellular or Wi-Fi Only?
- Thread starter Yebubbleman
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Before I've got the 2018 cellular 11' iPad pro on a clearance deal, I was wi-fi only and like others, I thought I'd never need a cellular plan on my iPad, but after that, I'd never go back to a wi-fi only model. It's just too convenient. I see it as a back up when I have a home internet outage (it happened for a week 2 yours ago, it was super handy having my iPad as a back up) or when I travel. Personal hotspot is not as fast as a dedicated line on the iPad itself. Also, I don't like surfing the web on my phone more than 10 minutes due to the small screen so the iPad is the obvious choice for mobile data consumption when I go to vacation or when internet or electricity outages happen.
Yeah, it's super useful during outages.
We didn't have power for a while during the SoCal wildfires in January. We were afraid we might need to evacuate and the cellular iPad has been pretty crucial for getting news (iPhone's battery drains too quickly).
We had a bunch of powerbanks and we pretty much used them all up to top up the iPhones.
A cellular version can be useful at times, but the extra cost is not worth it for the several times a year I will use it. However for the next iPad if I can find good deal with a cellular, then sure I will have one.
A bit off topic, but MBA with cellular option would be a dream to have.
A bit off topic, but MBA with cellular option would be a dream to have.
I can see where location and circumstances can influence our decision such as the example you brought up. That could be very useful.
Where I live power outages are extremely rare, we are very lucky. I could see taking it on vacation but, generally, my iPhone works well enough for that.
Why would providers won't allow it? As for the price, same as data for iPad.
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You can check out the prices they charge for mobile hotspots or cellular-capable Windows laptops.
Two different OS’s and usage. I could be wrong but it would be like running a work computer on internet.
Just a sample -
Costs will vary by vendor and data limits but they're no different than for other non-phone devices.
Thank you. Mixed reviews. I assume they suck data faster so you would need to pay more. In certain circumstances that could be worth it. For most probably not. Just my opinion though.
I buy wifi only versions. I'm retired and the iPhone hotspot is good enough for those rare occasions when I'm away from home for more than a day or two. I would buy the cellular version if I was working and/or traveling a lot because it would be worth the convenience, but I'm not spending the extra money plus a data plan for it every month for a device that will be connected to my home wifi 99% of the time.
I’m definitely returning my 256GB M4 iPad 11” for a 1TB. I’m about 90% decided on getting a cellular model also. I travel a lot and am using the iPad a lot more when I travel than I thought I might.
I’m getting a free line through xfinity which would be Verizon vs my iPhone with is AT&T. (My house/neighborhood has almost no AT&T signal so that backup would also be nice)
With the current sale prices of 1TB models, $250 difference for cellular is a bit of a bummer, but since I assume I will have this iPad for a long time… might as well go for it.
I’m getting a free line through xfinity which would be Verizon vs my iPhone with is AT&T. (My house/neighborhood has almost no AT&T signal so that backup would also be nice)
With the current sale prices of 1TB models, $250 difference for cellular is a bit of a bummer, but since I assume I will have this iPad for a long time… might as well go for it.
🤔 All my iPad I ever had have been WiFi only. I never really had a need for a cellular iPad since my iPhone goes with me when I’m away from home. I only use iPad for certain things and WiFi is always available when i use it.
Same. Even when traveling I’m always near a wifi or can get near one within a few mins. My iPad Pro isn’t a laptop replacement so it’s not really needed and I don’t want to pay 20 a month for service!
I don’t use my iPad’s enough to warrant opening an additional line for data, so I just use the hotspot from my iPhone. I also get 100Gb of free data from T-Mobile a year for my hotspot, that I can always use if needed.
I’m glad I bought my iPad with cellular. My Centurylink connection dropped to 2 Mbps on Monday, unusable. Verizon 5G was at least 25 Mbps, not its usual speed, but better than the hardwired connection. I’m considering Starlink. A friend in Nebraska has it. He has, +/- 900 Mbps, and it has been over 1 Gbps. The price is dropping, making it more attractive.
Excited to have AT&T Cellular activated on my new iPad 1TB (and return the wifi 256GB to Costco). Been loving using the iPad while traveling in lieu of getting out my giant 16" MBP. Used the Wifi only on my last trip and hot spotted off my phone, but was not a seamless as I would have liked.
Unfortunately, AT&T is almost unusable at my house in a national historic district that refuses cell towers due to their aesthetic..
Verizon is better at my house, which I just got for free basically as a second line/eSIM on my iPhone 16 ProMax from xfinity. Great to have if wifi goes out now... But having 2 eSims seems to make the hot spotting more difficult for the iPad so glad to now have cellular on the iPad.
Unfortunately, AT&T is almost unusable at my house in a national historic district that refuses cell towers due to their aesthetic..
Verizon is better at my house, which I just got for free basically as a second line/eSIM on my iPhone 16 ProMax from xfinity. Great to have if wifi goes out now... But having 2 eSims seems to make the hot spotting more difficult for the iPad so glad to now have cellular on the iPad.