Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
All iPads Worth having a cellular one if you plan on never using it with a cell phone provider ?
- Thread starter max2
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Long thread discussing cellular vs wifi iPads. But one advantage is that the cellular devices have internal GPS chips and the wifi ones do not.
You can pre download map files and use the iPad as a offline navigation device.
Accurate map tracking with apps that support downloading maps for offline use. GPS is a big reason I go with cellular on my mobile iPad (Mini 6).
Yours is the age old question.. Like others have mentioned, the cellular will be able to use GPS for your location when traveling. Sounds great, but for me it was hard to justify for those few opportunities when it would come in handy.
No, it's not. Navigation can be done on your phone without having to spend an extra 150$.
I've been able to use mapping and location referencing on my non-cellular iPad with wifi positioning. But it only works effectively in urban areas with overlapping wireless networks. But generally I agree with above, just bring your phone.
This. And also I can easily create a personal hotspot from my phone if I ever needed.
It is if you want that navigation on a larger screen.
Seems more like a justification. 🤷♂️
No, it is not. I am simply pointing out that it might matter to some people - it does to me for my uses and it is not simply a trivial justification.
Depends on whether you like viewing little maps or larger ones. It may not be worth it to you but that doesn’t make it not worth it to others.
I have LTE and i still dont know if its worth it, theres almost wifi everywhere and my phone has a hotspot. Only once i had a dead phone and no wifi and those 5 min i needed data it helped me out a lot. Im guessing if you really need gps then yeah maybe but still not sure. I got my ipad pretty cheap but if i were to get it at msrp price then no.
I always go with the cellular version. I figure if I ever need it, it is there. Was useful in a few situations where my phone was dead and there was no wifi available.
Another solution for navigation on wifi iPads is an external bluetooth GPS receiver, such as the Garmin GLO2. I have the older version of this and it is far more accurate than the internal GPS on an iPad or iPhone. It also provides position updates 10 times per second as opposed to internal chips that struggle to even post one update/sec. Another advantage is that it will work with any phone or tablet so you can use it in the future when you upgrade.
www.garmin.com
There are also other companies with similar products, such as Bad Elf and Dual.
Garmin GLO™ 2 | BlueTooth GPS Receiver
The GLO™ 2 is a GPS and GLONASS receiver that serves up Garmin caliber GPS data on the mobile device of your choice via BlueTooth® wireless technology.
www.garmin.com
There are also other companies with similar products, such as Bad Elf and Dual.
Last edited:
If for someone larger maps are worth an additionally 150$ then alright.
In the US it is remarkably cheap to keep a working 5G cellular plan on an iPad. There is a $10 for 5 GB for 5 months one time pass with T-Mobile. If you use only small amounts of data or larger amounts infrequently, it works very well. I always have inexpensive data on my cellular iPad mini. I never have to worry about connectivity or fiddling around with tethering from my phone. Even though I find WiFi in most places it isn’t universal.
I have the GLO2 but went cellular on my Mini 6 as it's far more convenient. I've connected the GLO2 to it and found the built-in GPS to be quite accurate.Another solution for navigation on wifi iPads is an external bluetooth GPS receiver, such as the Garmin GLO2. I have the older version of this and it is far more accurate than the internal GPS on an iPad or iPhone. It also provides position updates 10 times per second as opposed to internal chips that struggle to even post one update/sec. Another advantage is that it will work with any phone or tablet so you can use it in the future when you upgrade.
Garmin GLO™ 2 | BlueTooth GPS Receiver
The GLO™ 2 is a GPS and GLONASS receiver that serves up Garmin caliber GPS data on the mobile device of your choice via BlueTooth® wireless technology.
There are also other companies with similar products, such as Bad Elf and Dual.
Another solution for navigation on wifi iPads is an external bluetooth GPS receiver, such as the Garmin GLO2. I have the older version of this and it is far more accurate than the internal GPS on an iPad or iPhone. It also provides position updates 10 times per second as opposed to internal chips that struggle to even post one update/sec. Another advantage is that it will work with any phone or tablet so you can use it in the future when you upgrade.
Garmin GLO™ 2 | BlueTooth GPS Receiver
The GLO™ 2 is a GPS and GLONASS receiver that serves up Garmin caliber GPS data on the mobile device of your choice via BlueTooth® wireless technology.
There are also other companies with similar products, such as Bad Elf and Dual.
Your comment got to me think on this some more. I generally use the nav/location capabilities of the Mini 6 in areas where there is no cellular or WiFi accessibility - it has to use GPS-based data for location. But in an environment where cellular and WiFi signals are available, does it then rely on those for location though their accuracy will not be like that for GPS? What data source takes precedence with multiple sources available? I'll have to experiment with this.
