iPad with or without cellular

[rumz]

I'm grandfathered to a Mobile Share 20GB plan ($100 20GB + $15*4 phones + $10 tablet).

I think we use around 15GB a month (normal web use, music streaming, laptop and wifi-only iPad tethering but little video streaming). Funnily enough, back then, mobile hotspot was $20/mo while tablet was just $10/mo so I opted for the tablet.

I do have iPads on the $10/5GB/150 day T-Mobile Prepaid Pay As You Go plan and surprisingly, it supports hotspot.

It seems logical that you could hotspot if you have a finite data limit. Hey, you hotspot and use it up faster, you'll buy more data more quickly! I do wish more places had data that would last more than 30 days like T-Mobile does. I have T-Mobile on my phone-- just looking for a secondary provider for those fringe cases where I have no service with T-Mobile. (I only get like 50mb of data roaming onto AT&T's network... and my phone will chew through that in no time without me even thinking about it.)

 

[myapple2019]

I'm wondering if it's worth getting a model with cellular?
Doesn't seem necessary to pay the extra cost to have it.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks.

Cellular model is worth it for me. Although public WiFi is available in many places, it is not the safest internet connection ad it is exposing your devices to hacking/spoofing. Also hotspot connection is draining your iPhone battery.

 

[rumz]

I decided to get a 11" WiFi only. Got it for half of the cost it would have been for LTE version, when you include cost of the $20 line cost per month on Verizon. I will buy a apple fast charger and 2 long cords for my iPad and iPhone. Way cheaper using my iphone as a hotspot.

Definitely not a requirement to have an active data plan on the device. I do like having the GPS though (only comes with cellular models) and the option to have some data on there temporarily when I might want it for travel or whatever.

For example, a couple years back I was driving around Maui and there's a good section that's more primitive (road to Hana) where I had no service-- but I could totally see where I was on my iPad because the GPS could pinpoint me on a map even without an internet connection-- pretty handy. Likewise you could use a GPS / navigation app that allows you to download maps of areas in advance so that you don't need data to get directions or see a map. Of course, your phone can do this too-- but I digress.

 

[newellj]

Bought a 12.9" 2018 iPP with LTE. It bent badly, so I returned it and bought a wifi-only version. I think the LTE versions are simply too fragile (YMMV).

When I bought my Mini 5, I got LTE. With a VZW incentive, it was actually $200 (!!!) less expensive than the wifi-only version. I've been on VZW and its predecessors since 1989, so I figured a two year contract on the iPad was not an issue for me.

 

[rui no onna]

It seems logical that you could hotspot if you have a finite data limit. Hey, you hotspot and use it up faster, you'll buy more data more quickly! I do wish more places had data that would last more than 30 days like T-Mobile does. I have T-Mobile on my phone-- just looking for a secondary provider for those fringe cases where I have no service with T-Mobile. (I only get like 50mb of data roaming onto AT&T's network... and my phone will chew through that in no time without me even thinking about it.)

You'd think so, right? But iirc, on AT&T's prepaid fixed limit data plans, hotspot's only available on the $60+ plans.

Meanwhile, all of Verizon's prepaid fixed limit data plans support hotspot (at least they were when I signed up).

 

[rui no onna]

It seems logical that you could hotspot if you have a finite data limit. Hey, you hotspot and use it up faster, you'll buy more data more quickly! I do wish more places had data that would last more than 30 days like T-Mobile does. I have T-Mobile on my phone-- just looking for a secondary provider for those fringe cases where I have no service with T-Mobile. (I only get like 50mb of data roaming onto AT&T's network... and my phone will chew through that in no time without me even thinking about it.)

You'd think so, right? But iirc, on AT&T's prepaid fixed limit data plans, hotspot's only available on the $60+ plans.

Meanwhile, all of Verizon's prepaid fixed limit data plans support hotspot.