Carrier Cellular vs. Wifi + iPhone 6

[JSENNY25]

Hi folks!

As the title says, I am up in the air (no pun intended) about which iPad Air 2 to purchase.

64 GB will be the size, but I do not know if the Cellular version is a need considering that I have an iPhone 6 and AT&T with 20 GB of data (thanks to another awesome MR thread!) and the ability to tether.

At this point, I own an AT&T iPad Air that costs $10 a month to use our pool of data, and it is a great device. I am upgrading almost entirely for the 2GB RAM and the laminated screen.

My wife is tired of the heavy iPad 3, so I will be giving her my old Air.

As it stands, if I cancelled the current Air's data (my wife only uses it in the house) I will pay a $120 penalty. I could just keep the data active, but the cost per month will be the same if I cancel or not. So that is a wash.

I could buy the Air 2 and transfer that data plan as well.

or

I but the wifi only and tether to my iPhone 6. 20 GB is plenty, but I am worried about a few things:

1. that the speed of tethered the data my take a hit
2. the battery drain on the iPhone
3. the strength of the LTE signal from the iPhone vs an LTE Air 2 (at work the Air 1 has faster/stronger connection than the iPhone 6)

Basically, it comes down to me paying $130 more or not. I am ok with either because I will be taking advantage of some of the descent Best Buy discounts that are available right now (again thanks to the fourms). I could save the money from LTE vs WiFi and apply that to upgrade to the 128 size as well.

Also, does anyone know if the anti reflection applies to the black or white bezels? I have went with white for the last few iPads because of the smudges and less reflection, but am interested in going back to black.

Thanks!

 

[scaredpoet]

1. that the speed of tethered the data my take a hit
2. the battery drain on the iPhone
3. the strength of the LTE signal from the iPhone vs an LTE Air 2 (at work the Air 1 has faster/stronger connection than the iPhone 6)

The above are all reasons why I went with cellular on my Air and the Air 2. Additionally, I didn't like how hot my phone would get during tethering, and of course the tethering is useless if you misplace either the iPad or the iPhone, and want to the use the remaining device to find what you've lost. Either you'll have an iPad with no internet (unless there's WiFi), or you'll have a phone with internet but an iPad with likely no internet connection to phone home with.

One other thing: You can also carry a spare SIM around from another carrier to use as a backup, in case there's a coverage issue with AT&T.

 

[Angler]

Cellular, everything else is a flawed design.

 

[tawfiqmp]

I had the wifi one originally. Exchanged it for a cellular.

 

[marcosscriven]

Cellular, everything else is a flawed design.

I see this question all the time, and there's a lot of what I'd call 'purchase justification' in the responses.

Tethering certainly couldn't in any objective way be called 'flawed'. It's a very simple and convenient way to share a connection. It's particularly simple now that with Instant Hotspot you don't even have to fiddle with your phone.

Certainly cellular has advantages, but it does also have a considerable cost, both in terms of the outlay, and usually another data plan.

It's certainly not necessary for many use cases, but it sounds like it would work well for you, so go for it.

 

[Angler]

I see this question all the time, and there's a lot of what I'd call 'purchase justification' in the responses.

Tethering certainly couldn't in any objective way be called 'flawed'. It's a very simple and convenient way to share a connection. It's particularly simple now that with Instant Hotspot you don't even have to fiddle with your phone.

Certainly cellular has advantages, but it does also have a considerable cost, both in terms of the outlay, and usually another data plan.

It's certainly not necessary for many use cases, but it sounds like it would work well for you, so go for it.

I'm not speaking to the users who pick what works for them. I am speaking to Apple who IMO should automatically put the chip into the iPad and then it's up to the users if they want to activate it.

 

[marcosscriven]

I'm not speaking to the users who pick what works for them. I am speaking to Apple who IMO should automatically put the chip into the iPad and then it's up to the users if they want to activate it.

It's not just a chip though - it's an antenna, and a different body (with the plastic at the top).

It's also extra costs to cover for testing, regulatory approval and so forth.

It wouldn't make sense for every ipad to have that, would be a waste.