iPad Pro WiFi or WiFi + LTE?

[JohnJames89]

hey,

This is my first post so sorry if it’s rather unprofessional, Verizon is offering a deal on an iPad with LTE, otherwise I wouldn’t be considering it. So that even with the device payment monthly and it being a higher price iPad, it’s slightly cheaper than the WiFi one. But the hassle of having it on a plan and making monthly payments and it being in a 2 year contract is a little stressful, making me consider the WiFi only and just going through Apple. Does anyone have experiences where they were really glad they had the cellular service option? Or has anyone wished they had it? Any experience and thoughts appreciated, thanks.

 

[Spinrite]

I wanna be portable, that includes not being tied down or looking to check for wifi areas, unless you live in a city that has predominant wifi throughout the city. Having a cellular model allows for internal gps for maps and capability staying in touch for communications on the road and making calls.

Your mileage may very. Bottom line, you have to know, how you wanna use it on a daily basis. Make a list of your uses for your iPad and ask yourself do I need the wireless connectivity at those times. You’ll know pretty quickly if you can get by without LTE. For me that answer was no.

 

[akash.nu]

Why’s it stressful to be on a contract if you’re going to get a device cheaper?

 

[Newtons Apple]

Even if you do not use cellular now you might want to later.

Plus the cellular model ahs REAL GPS which is enough for me to buy and I seldom use my cellular connection but when needed it is nice to have.

If money is tight non-cellular is good as long as you stay around good WiFi.

 

[spooklog]

My experience with WiFi versus WiFi+LTE iPads is pretty simple: If you only have a WiFi iPad, you'll get used to it. But if you have a WiFi+LTE iPad, you'll run into situations where the LTE is a lifesaver, and you'll swear that you'll never rely on a WiFi-only device again.

Personally, I'd pursue the WiFi+LTE model Verizon is offering IF it is cheaper than the WiFi-only model, as you said. But if making monthly payments is a hardship for you (it is for me), don't worry about it. The WiFi-only iPad should do fine, especially if you use your phone as a hotspot when you require an LTE connection.

 

[RichardMZhlubb]

My first iPad was LTE, but since I always have my phone with me, I soon realized that a WI-FI iPad with hotspot iPhone connectivity is all I need.

 

[sparksd]

See this thread - this question is discussed in there, also:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/why-are-ipad-cellular-models-almost-never-discounted.2091350/

 

[akash.nu]

My first iPad was LTE, but since I always have my phone with me, I soon realized that a WI-FI iPad with hotspot iPhone connectivity is all I need.

This is me as well. I feel like unless one is a heavy iPad user and needs constant data connection, only WiFi model should do for most.

 

[mk313]

If it’s your first ipad, then it might be worth it to buy a cellular version to see if you use it. (Obviously you need to weigh the extra cost & if you’re on a contract, then the extra cost of the data package) Once you have one, you’ll see how much you use the cellular and know for the future if it’s worth having the cellular option. On a second or later ipad, you’ll probably already know if you use it enough to make it worth the cost. My first ipad was wifi only, but my next one was cellular, and I’ve only purchased the cellular models since then. I don’t use the cellular data often, but just enough that it’s worth it to me. Airports, in the car on long drives, pubic areas where the wifi is slow or doesn’t allow access to my email, etc are all places where I use it. In the US, T Mobile has a 5 GB plan that’s good for 5 months, which is a great price to me. Aside from the extra upfront cost of the ipad, I’m only paying about $25/year for data, which is well worth it to me.

 

[thelookingglass]

Can someone enlighten me: why not just tether to your iPhone? What situation could possibly require an LTE iPad? Other than extreme emergencies.

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

Can someone enlighten me: why not just tether to your iPhone? What situation could possibly require an LTE iPad? Other than extreme emergencies.

That’s what I’m trying to figure out too. Tethering seems to work very well, though it makes my phone battery run down quickly. I could see not wanting to bother with tethering if you use LTE with your ipad frequently. For occasional use, I’m not sure what the point is.

 

[Freakonomics101]

I always told my customers an iPad without cellular connectivity is pointless to me. An iPad is meant for mobility. LTE can be a lifesaver, like others have mentioned.

 

[eggdog]

While I have the att unlimited plan on my iPhone, I do not have the “hotspot “ option. That would be an additional $10 a month to teather. Also when I travel abroad on a few occasions I can’t teather without crazy roaming international charges. FOR MY use, it is cheaper to have an unlocked iPad , use the $10 for 5mos with T mobile, and have the flexibility to use any international carrier when the time arises..

 

[rui no onna]

Can someone enlighten me: why not just tether to your iPhone? What situation could possibly require an LTE iPad? Other than extreme emergencies.

Convenience. The iPad is my most used electronic device (like 85% iPad/10% iPhone/5% PC) and ~50% of the time, I don't have access to wifi. Tethering just kills battery life unnecessarily on the phone plus the annoyance of getting disconnected and needing to reconnect every few minutes.

 

[dangeng]

Struggled with the same questions and went back and forth for weeks...

At some point (in the middle of a sleepless night with bad cellphone reception) I realized that not only could my iPhone be used as a hotspot for the iPad, but also the other way around.

Hence I bought an iPad with cellular (9.7 pro since they are super 'cheap' now).
Now I am using two SIM cards from different providers in both the iPhone and iPad and in cases (luckily not that often) with not so good cell coverage I don't have to change SIM cards because I can use both devices to provide a hotspot for each other.

 

[sparksd]

Can someone enlighten me: why not just tether to your iPhone? What situation could possibly require an LTE iPad? Other than extreme emergencies.

I don't now and never had a tether option worth the $ on the phone plan I have through employer , which is excellent otherwise. I wanted an iPad with GPS and the 5GB/5months/$10 plan from T-Mobile is perfect for me. Plus. I just don't want to tether - immediate access on the iPad is more convenient.

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

I think if LTE got to the point where I could use it for tons and tons of video conferences (how I work) without hitting up against the wall where they can slow you down even on unlimited, I would definitely go for the LTE. But since I can’t use LTE to work anyway, tethering meets my needs. And maybe next purchase I’ll get it... that T-Mobile deal sounds sweet.

 

[jbachandouris]

As perviously mentioned, only LTE versions use true GPS, so if you need it for maps, tethering won't offer that feature.

Honestly, the only reason I bought the LTE version is that I wanted to use AT&T Next to finance it. At the time I bought it, I had more use for LTE as I do now, but its a great feature to have.

 

[everythingapplerainbow]

so why don't you guys don't buy a LTE-to-Wifi adapter, isn't that cheaper?

 

[sparksd]

so why don't you guys don't buy a LTE-to-Wifi adapter, isn't that cheaper?

Inconvenient, something extra to carry around, no GPS ...

 

[The Game 161]

I get 20GB of data a month so for me I can use it unlimited without coming close.

 

[MacInTO]

The LTE iPP is great when I'm traveling. Sometimes the public wifi is slow or non existent I can easily turn on the data and have good connectivity right away. I don't have to deal with tethering draining my phone battery.

If you can get cheap data, it's even more worth it.

 

[rui no onna]

so why don't you guys don't buy a LTE-to-Wifi adapter, isn't that cheaper?

For me, no.

Back when I bought my first cellular iPad, wifi hotspots used to be $200 ($0-100 with 2-year contract), usually locked to one carrier and had a $20/mo line access fee and ~6 hour battery life. That's $480 over 2 years.

Meanwhile, the upcharge for the iPad is $130 but that $130 often gets discounted if signing up with 2-year carrier contract plus the line access fee was just $10/mo. It can be used as a wifi hotspot (on iPad 4, lasts ~40+ hrs with display off). With discounts, that's $240 over 2 years.

I think with the new plans, line access fee is the same $20 now for tablets and hotspots. Hotspots might actually be cheaper, I'm not sure. However, the plan I'm grandfathered into (fixed data) works for my usage and costs less than any of the new unlimited plans the carriers currently have.