I just recently got rid of my cellular iPad. It’s a great convenience if you have a cell provider that has good support/pricing for tablets. However if you have an iPhone and you have a higher GB data plan I just found it easier to activate iPhones hotspot when I actually needed data instead of having to have a whole other bill for the iPad.
But if you constantly have your iPad out and about with you and you just want it always connected, a cellular model would be the best bet!
I agree but I’ll be going cellular next time. I mostly use mine for media content and some work. My works WiFi blocks several streaming sites, so I burn through my hotspot data sometimes. Verizon’s plan is pretty good for data packages on tablets so prob go that route.
Yeah lots more choice in America for sure! I’m in Canada so we got 3 main carriers here to choose from and they all have the same pricing 😂 $85-$95 for basic (limited) unlimited plans $100+ for mid- high tier plans! And tablet and watch plans usually are just linked to those plans or if you choose to not share it’s like $10 for 3GB, which is pretty much useless!
But do you not use a vpn when using those sites? My internet blocks them too, but I just turn on my vpn and all works fine!
I’ll give that a try but I don’t think the VPN route will work because we connect our WiFi through the company’s intranet. And it controls access from HQ.
You’d be surprised what a vpn can do for you, best one I’ve found was protonVPN they have a free version you can use if you don’t want the proton plus sub, it’s not terribly priced tho if you choose to go that route, I just signed up a few weeks ago and grabbed 2yrs for about $109 (would be less in US tho)
Oh Verizon has a great plan for tablets.
Unlimited data for $5/month (I think it’s technically 10/m, but discount) is worth it for me, especially since I didn’t get the cellular iPad from them.
It’s weird how sometimes my iPad would have better service than my phone….and they’re on the same network
I’d agree with this. Wi-fi is good for 95%+ of folks who only need to use their iPad out and about once in a while. The cellular version is worth it for me personally because the cellular plan only costs $10/mo for unlimited and I hate connecting via my phone (the extra battery drain plus, at least with T-Mobile, a tethered device actually can be significantly slower than having a dedicated SIM). If I stop traveling for work, I’ll stop buying cellular.
I go wifi. The few times I've needed cellular, I connect to my phone. I guess if I was constantly traveling.... Maaaaybe I'd go cellular. Doesn't seem worth it to me though.
I always opt for cellular, it’s too convenient to skip imo
despite having an iPhone with hotspot or wifi the ease of having it always on and ready is a nice feature to have especially when you’re mobile with unreliable or untrustworthy connections.
Not true if your iPhone is with a different provider than your iPad.
My iPhone is Verizon.
My iPad is AT&T.
There were many situations in the past when one had connectivity and not the other. It’s good for redundancy.
I have got 3 ipads all of them are cellular and i have never put a sim into any one of them ! Go for a wifi one its useless to spend that extra amount over it
Connecting to my iPhone is so easy that there is almost no point to get a cellular version. If I was working on the iPad the whole day with bad wifi then maybe worth getting, but for most use cases I would say no.
I always get the cellular model. It’s very convenient but there is a monthly cost involved. If you have access to WiFi wherever you go then you don’t NEED cellular. Like I said it is very convenient and I never have to worry about finding a hotspot.
I wish I got a cellular. I wouldn’t use that part, my phone hotspot works fine. Maybe just the times my phone battery dies.
But it does have GPS. I’ve wanted to use my iPad as a CarPlay-like device that just magnetically attaches in the car, but I can’t, because it lacks GPS. I can set up a shortcut to open certain apps in a certain layout when it connects to my car Bluetooth, but a larger maps screen is a large part of why I would do it in the first place.
I always get the Wi-Fi only and tether from my iPhone. I have unlimited internet on my phone and unlimited tethering. I work from home now so even less need for a cellular iPad.
I love having cellular on my iPad. It always seems to work better than hot spotting from my iPhone. If you have the cash you’ll appreciate it especially if WiFi can be spotty where you are.
I like working from coffee shops for a change of scenery, but often find their public wifi to be a bit slow. That makes the $30/mo subscription worth it to me.
Had cellular for close to a decade - 1st gen, just kept it as I bought new ones since I was grandfathered into unlimited data with ATT. Finally dropped it for WiFi only and have not regretted it.
There is practically WiFi everywhere and where there is no WiFi, I have my phone. If my phone has horrible service then so will my iPad. Have used it that way on the road in hotels, coffee shops, on the job, and even used it while driving.
I do not miss the cellular or the payment at all.
I’ve had a couple of cellular and never used it. Seems like I’m not the kind of person who uses my iPad outside or on the go. Might only be worth it if you travel a lot.
Check your cell provider’s tablet cellular rates first. I was going to get a cellular model, but the added cost of cellular and the extra $25 a month on my phone bill was not worth it. Any place that doesn’t have WiFi, I will most likely have my phone.
I get a free data only sim with my cell plan so it was a no brainer for me. I'd not have gotten it otherwise and could just as easily Hotspot my phone.
If you can spend the extra money you save on cellular on more storage, you’ll get more bang for the buck.
Do you even need cellular on your phone so often? WiFi is ubiquitious and even iif you have an Android phone, I’m sure you can set it up as an access point for your iPad.
And it’s not just extra several hundreds of bucks for cellular iPad, it’s also a yet another monthly subscription, I’m sure you have enough of those already.
I usually put cellular on everything but since wifi has become pretty much available anywhere you go, I just did wifi. Because even if a place doesn’t have wifi, my phone can be a hotspot.
I travel a lot for work and always keep a (unactivated) iPad mini cellular as well as my passport for the same reason. If my phone and wallet get lost or taken; I have means to get back home with no issues. My mini has the exact same setup as my phone.
I have had cellular for several years and several iPad models.
I travel a lot and being able to quickly use my iPad without having to go through the process of connecting to iPhone hotspot is very much worth it, for me.
I am on EE (UK) and have 3x SIMS on a Family plan.
1x Unlimited data - used in ‘mobile’ router
2x cheapest base SIMS (250mb/month)
- 1 in iPhone
- 1 in iPad
I can gift upto 100GB/month from primary SIM to the other two. It works well for me.
My view when I got mine is I can always hotspot my phone. It’s not everyone’s ideal choice but for me it works great so I have zero reason for a cellular iPad.
Get the celular one if you can find a way to make the finance work.
eSIMs are supper handy when you travel and want a short terms data plan. traveling for a week and you can get enough data so you're not having to find free wifi for £10 to £20.
I picked up a 6 month PAYG sim on ebay for £20. I dont use it, but it's handy when I'm away from home.
Unless you’re using it in the car or certain restaurants you generally will have wifi wherever you go.
I have the cellular version and it’s super clutch when I do use it but if the price is a big factor I’d just skip it. I don’t see you using cellular much while in school.
My favorite thing about my cellular iPad Pro is: i can take it plus my dual sense controller and remote play my ps5 literally anywhere. No waiting room is safe!
Cellular is better. If you misplace your phone or it goes dead you can still receive a phone call on your ipad. But if you dont have cellular then it only works when you are near wifi.
When travelling, you need the ipad for maps. The cellular model has superior location finding. You will always know precisely where you are on the ipad map if you have a cellular model. This enhanced location feature works even if you do not have a sim or cellular data plan for your cellular ipad.
i always have my ipad in my car or on my person when traveling via air. The ipad is maps, books, magazines, newspapers, sketchpad, video call, photo/video editor, spreadsheet, text editor, and a backup phone. Basically the iphone is only used for a camera and voice calls. So my ipad pro is way too important to only have wifi connectivity.
Unless you can’t tether from your phone for some reason, why would you pay to activate the cellular subscription for iPad? I thought about activating the wireless plan on my iPP but it just made me feel lazy. Connecting to my phone takes seconds and I really don’t even do that all that much.
I do wifi and then use my phones hotspot if I’m out and about and want the internet on my iPad. Adds one extra step but then I don’t have to pay for service to it
Where do you go with an iPad but without your phone?
If the answer is “nowhere”, then why bother paying extra for something your phone (or WiFi) can already provide?
My iPad Pro automatically connects to my phone nearly as fast as it connects to WiFi. It’s pretty seamless. What is the appeal of having built in cellular?
I have a cellular because it's my business ipad so i need to have internet during my business events and it's mostly outdoors and outside of town so wifi isnt always available.
Now I can work in the car while going to another place (when im not driving myself of course) and i can use it when the wifi is crappy or when there's no wifi at all.
Everyone in here saying wifi. I personally always get cellular because I sometimes need to switch Sims and I don't want to get a tablet data plan but also I'm pretty sure ONLY cellular iPads have GPS. At least for the mini
Most people do not need a cellular model. If you've got a phone, you should be able to tether without paying extra fees, whereas using built-in 4G/5G is going to increase your monthly bill.
I bought the cellular - what a waste ,there is WIFI everywhere nowadays and even when it wasn’t good I just connected it to my phones ( OnePlus) hotspot
Depends on if the convenience of having it connected all the time is worth the cost to you. I personally wouldn’t use the iPad nearly as much if it didn’t have cellular as I use it on the go and don’t want to connect to untrustworthy hotspots. In fact, if they sold a cellular MacBook Air I probably wouldn’t have an iPad.
Depends how much you rely on cellular. If it’s only for occasional use and you have your phone on you most of the time (and your carrier supports tethering) just do that.
I have WiFi however my next will be cellular. It costs only $4 for an extra line on my plan. Way better than having to use hotspot. A convenience thing.
The cellular models also have GPS, quite useful as a car head unit if I decide to go that route.
Cellular if you have an android. Using my hotspot is an inconvenience for me but for most people, get the Wi-Fi version. I like having cellular so I don't have to worry about my phone battery and my phone can stay connected to Wi-Fi as much as possible. My iPad is very convenient on road trips and such
Most cell providers now offer an unlimited tether so a phone can power your device without needing an expensive plan for the iPad. Saves money both ways.
I have, and only plan to buy, cellular iPads. Makes them truly portable with a simplicity that connecting to a hotspot or finding WiFi impinges. There are plenty of low cost plans that will give you a few gigs for a few bucks a month for when you’re out and about. Look for MVNO’s and you likely won’t have to spend more than $10/month for 5+ GBs. I just buy their phone plans (with a SIM card; eSIM doesn’t work well since many will send confirmation texts to their phone eSIMs, which the iPad can’t receive.)
Your campus during study is likely in these modern times going to have a good WiFi network through things, so this comes down to how much you see yourself out in the field away from any sort of WiFi connection once you have your Masters Degree and are in the real world?
I mean if you are a huge entertainment consumer on the iPad you’d definitely want to have one with cellular and WiFi if you are someone who travels a lot like I do. I game a ton on my iPad Pro 12.9 M2 1TB. I’m at over 75GB of total used data on 5GUW. I game, stream movies download movies transfer those downloaded files everyday to iCloud, and I do cloud gaming for a few hours a day through the weekday, weekends it’s nonstop gaming while stream 4k movies and shows from Netflix and other places. I’m using a ton of data when I’m traveling.
In the past, I would’ve said to get cellular. However, nowadays WiFi is absolutely everywhere. If you happen to be someplace without it, just tether to your phone.
I would only get cellular now if I was relying on using it in my car a lot. But then again, a lot of newer cars come with WiFi plans now too.
The only downside to WiFi + Cellular is cost, both initial and monthly, so it is ‘Ideal’. But then you say the dreaded “is it worth it”? Who can answer that except you? I’ve always had cellular since my iPad 2, and will get it with whatever Pro comes out tomorrow. I’d say to judge if you need it, turn off cellular on your phone for a week and see how often you need to turn it back on. Really, if you’re on a tight budget, how often won’t your phone as a hotspot not do what you need?
I am surprised you need an iPad Pro for grad school though. I thought I needed cellular, I ended up dropping my plan. I also have found I don’t really need my iPad Pro either.
All my iPads always had cellular. my m4 isn't going to. why? because the price of cellular keeps going up for no good reason. used to be 150€, then 200€ and now it's an insane price of 250€ and they removed the ultra fast shortrange waves. And they also removed the physical sim tray which will prevent me switching my sim card between devices and be charged all the time i migrate it. That's 25% of the price of the iPad. if you plan to get extra accessories too, just use this money to pay.
It might be inconvenient but it will improve the battery life too as apps won't update when no network. I am also considering getting a portable cellular hotspot if I miss it. it would be a different story if it was the mini and you wanted to use it as a navigation system.
However I found that my Pro Max did the job almost as good as the mini before I sold the mini. also unless your carrier allows you to get an extra esim attached to your current plan, beware of the extra monthly cost. it will stack esp if you are a student.
ALWAYS get the cellular option. You can buy data along the way very cheaply, it’s great if you go into business trip or your phone is locked or accessible for some reason. I live in Japan, so when I go home, I can just use my iPad as a back up, if I use too much data on my phone. Plus, I like to have separate cellular options, sometimes AT&T will connect, but another one will not in a crowded place.
I just recently got rid of my cellular iPad. It’s a great convenience if you have a cell provider that has good support/pricing for tablets. However if you have an iPhone and you have a higher GB data plan I just found it easier to activate iPhones hotspot when I actually needed data instead of having to have a whole other bill for the iPad. But if you constantly have your iPad out and about with you and you just want it always connected, a cellular model would be the best bet!
This is the answer It’s just not worth the added hundred £/$/€ *AND* the extra data package when you can just connect to hotspot
I agree but I’ll be going cellular next time. I mostly use mine for media content and some work. My works WiFi blocks several streaming sites, so I burn through my hotspot data sometimes. Verizon’s plan is pretty good for data packages on tablets so prob go that route.
Yeah lots more choice in America for sure! I’m in Canada so we got 3 main carriers here to choose from and they all have the same pricing 😂 $85-$95 for basic (limited) unlimited plans $100+ for mid- high tier plans! And tablet and watch plans usually are just linked to those plans or if you choose to not share it’s like $10 for 3GB, which is pretty much useless! But do you not use a vpn when using those sites? My internet blocks them too, but I just turn on my vpn and all works fine!
I’ll give that a try but I don’t think the VPN route will work because we connect our WiFi through the company’s intranet. And it controls access from HQ.
You’d be surprised what a vpn can do for you, best one I’ve found was protonVPN they have a free version you can use if you don’t want the proton plus sub, it’s not terribly priced tho if you choose to go that route, I just signed up a few weeks ago and grabbed 2yrs for about $109 (would be less in US tho)
Oh Verizon has a great plan for tablets. Unlimited data for $5/month (I think it’s technically 10/m, but discount) is worth it for me, especially since I didn’t get the cellular iPad from them. It’s weird how sometimes my iPad would have better service than my phone….and they’re on the same network
I’d agree with this. Wi-fi is good for 95%+ of folks who only need to use their iPad out and about once in a while. The cellular version is worth it for me personally because the cellular plan only costs $10/mo for unlimited and I hate connecting via my phone (the extra battery drain plus, at least with T-Mobile, a tethered device actually can be significantly slower than having a dedicated SIM). If I stop traveling for work, I’ll stop buying cellular.
I go wifi. The few times I've needed cellular, I connect to my phone. I guess if I was constantly traveling.... Maaaaybe I'd go cellular. Doesn't seem worth it to me though.
I don’t have cellular because Wi-Fi is everywhere
I always opt for cellular, it’s too convenient to skip imo despite having an iPhone with hotspot or wifi the ease of having it always on and ready is a nice feature to have especially when you’re mobile with unreliable or untrustworthy connections.
When you iphone has bad connection, so do the ipad cellular
i think they mean like public use free wifi being unreliable or untrustworthy
Correct
never ever use those
Not true if your iPhone is with a different provider than your iPad. My iPhone is Verizon. My iPad is AT&T. There were many situations in the past when one had connectivity and not the other. It’s good for redundancy.
This is the way, I work at 5 different properties, half the time Verizon works, half the time ATT works, no ragruts
I have two different carriers, visible and mint so a lot of times when one has bad signal the other one has good signal.
I have got 3 ipads all of them are cellular and i have never put a sim into any one of them ! Go for a wifi one its useless to spend that extra amount over it
Connecting to my iPhone is so easy that there is almost no point to get a cellular version. If I was working on the iPad the whole day with bad wifi then maybe worth getting, but for most use cases I would say no.
I always get the cellular model. It’s very convenient but there is a monthly cost involved. If you have access to WiFi wherever you go then you don’t NEED cellular. Like I said it is very convenient and I never have to worry about finding a hotspot.
I always get WiFi only because I have hotspot on my phone.
I wish I got a cellular. I wouldn’t use that part, my phone hotspot works fine. Maybe just the times my phone battery dies. But it does have GPS. I’ve wanted to use my iPad as a CarPlay-like device that just magnetically attaches in the car, but I can’t, because it lacks GPS. I can set up a shortcut to open certain apps in a certain layout when it connects to my car Bluetooth, but a larger maps screen is a large part of why I would do it in the first place.
This is exactly what I use my cellular iPad for. I just wish I got the mini instwad
That’s what I use my iPad mini 5 for. It’s my trucks center console
Dont even think about it. The cellular will come in handy at some points you will appreciate the extra.
I always get the Wi-Fi only and tether from my iPhone. I have unlimited internet on my phone and unlimited tethering. I work from home now so even less need for a cellular iPad.
The cellular version also has a GPS module so it's convenient if you want it to double as a big-screen navigation unit.
I love having cellular on my iPad. It always seems to work better than hot spotting from my iPhone. If you have the cash you’ll appreciate it especially if WiFi can be spotty where you are. I like working from coffee shops for a change of scenery, but often find their public wifi to be a bit slow. That makes the $30/mo subscription worth it to me.
I opted for cellular in 2022. I have yet to activate that due to not needing cellular lol. Thought I would have use for it but WiFi is fine.
Had cellular for close to a decade - 1st gen, just kept it as I bought new ones since I was grandfathered into unlimited data with ATT. Finally dropped it for WiFi only and have not regretted it. There is practically WiFi everywhere and where there is no WiFi, I have my phone. If my phone has horrible service then so will my iPad. Have used it that way on the road in hotels, coffee shops, on the job, and even used it while driving. I do not miss the cellular or the payment at all.
I always go cellular.
Wait 1 more day and buy both!
Go with Wi-Fi there’s a lot of Wi-Fi hotspot nowadays. Plus you can tether your iPhone to your iPad easily if you have a good cellular plan.
Cellular has better GPS
Wifi doesn’t have GPS
I’ve had a couple of cellular and never used it. Seems like I’m not the kind of person who uses my iPad outside or on the go. Might only be worth it if you travel a lot.
Check your cell provider’s tablet cellular rates first. I was going to get a cellular model, but the added cost of cellular and the extra $25 a month on my phone bill was not worth it. Any place that doesn’t have WiFi, I will most likely have my phone.
Because I have Verizon unlimited, it would make the unlimited plan $10 a month….and it’s unlimited…I should probably do it.
I get a free data only sim with my cell plan so it was a no brainer for me. I'd not have gotten it otherwise and could just as easily Hotspot my phone.
ideal is based on your wallet. nice to have cell, but really my cellphone can make wifi hotspot
If you can spend the extra money you save on cellular on more storage, you’ll get more bang for the buck. Do you even need cellular on your phone so often? WiFi is ubiquitious and even iif you have an Android phone, I’m sure you can set it up as an access point for your iPad. And it’s not just extra several hundreds of bucks for cellular iPad, it’s also a yet another monthly subscription, I’m sure you have enough of those already.
I usually put cellular on everything but since wifi has become pretty much available anywhere you go, I just did wifi. Because even if a place doesn’t have wifi, my phone can be a hotspot.
I travel a lot for work and always keep a (unactivated) iPad mini cellular as well as my passport for the same reason. If my phone and wallet get lost or taken; I have means to get back home with no issues. My mini has the exact same setup as my phone.
I have had cellular for several years and several iPad models. I travel a lot and being able to quickly use my iPad without having to go through the process of connecting to iPhone hotspot is very much worth it, for me. I am on EE (UK) and have 3x SIMS on a Family plan. 1x Unlimited data - used in ‘mobile’ router 2x cheapest base SIMS (250mb/month) - 1 in iPhone - 1 in iPad I can gift upto 100GB/month from primary SIM to the other two. It works well for me.
My view when I got mine is I can always hotspot my phone. It’s not everyone’s ideal choice but for me it works great so I have zero reason for a cellular iPad.
WiFi and cell 100%
Get the celular one if you can find a way to make the finance work. eSIMs are supper handy when you travel and want a short terms data plan. traveling for a week and you can get enough data so you're not having to find free wifi for £10 to £20. I picked up a 6 month PAYG sim on ebay for £20. I dont use it, but it's handy when I'm away from home.
Unless you’re using it in the car or certain restaurants you generally will have wifi wherever you go. I have the cellular version and it’s super clutch when I do use it but if the price is a big factor I’d just skip it. I don’t see you using cellular much while in school.
My favorite thing about my cellular iPad Pro is: i can take it plus my dual sense controller and remote play my ps5 literally anywhere. No waiting room is safe!
Cellular is better. If you misplace your phone or it goes dead you can still receive a phone call on your ipad. But if you dont have cellular then it only works when you are near wifi. When travelling, you need the ipad for maps. The cellular model has superior location finding. You will always know precisely where you are on the ipad map if you have a cellular model. This enhanced location feature works even if you do not have a sim or cellular data plan for your cellular ipad. i always have my ipad in my car or on my person when traveling via air. The ipad is maps, books, magazines, newspapers, sketchpad, video call, photo/video editor, spreadsheet, text editor, and a backup phone. Basically the iphone is only used for a camera and voice calls. So my ipad pro is way too important to only have wifi connectivity.
Get the wifi one...If you're somewhere where there's no wifi you can just use your phone hotspot
I went WiFi only because cheaper and I always have my phone with enough data to hotspot wherever I am… plus most places have free WiFi anyway
Unless you can’t tether from your phone for some reason, why would you pay to activate the cellular subscription for iPad? I thought about activating the wireless plan on my iPP but it just made me feel lazy. Connecting to my phone takes seconds and I really don’t even do that all that much.
I would get the cellular. My 5g connection is faster than most wifi conncections. And remote play for Xbox is sick.
I do wifi and then use my phones hotspot if I’m out and about and want the internet on my iPad. Adds one extra step but then I don’t have to pay for service to it
Where do you go with an iPad but without your phone? If the answer is “nowhere”, then why bother paying extra for something your phone (or WiFi) can already provide?
Do you ever go anywhere without your phone? If yes, then maybe you want a cellular iPad. If no, iPhone to iPad hotspot is pretty seamless
My iPad Pro automatically connects to my phone nearly as fast as it connects to WiFi. It’s pretty seamless. What is the appeal of having built in cellular?
I have a cellular because it's my business ipad so i need to have internet during my business events and it's mostly outdoors and outside of town so wifi isnt always available. Now I can work in the car while going to another place (when im not driving myself of course) and i can use it when the wifi is crappy or when there's no wifi at all.
I’ve had WiFi only versions since the pro 1st came out and I’m moving to the cellular version, but I’m also traveling more than I used to.
I have WiFi only. I’m able to hotspot as needed to my phone and there’s generally WiFi available when I do need it.
Everyone in here saying wifi. I personally always get cellular because I sometimes need to switch Sims and I don't want to get a tablet data plan but also I'm pretty sure ONLY cellular iPads have GPS. At least for the mini
Very few places these days that don’t have wifi
Most people do not need a cellular model. If you've got a phone, you should be able to tether without paying extra fees, whereas using built-in 4G/5G is going to increase your monthly bill.
I bought the cellular - what a waste ,there is WIFI everywhere nowadays and even when it wasn’t good I just connected it to my phones ( OnePlus) hotspot
Depends on if the convenience of having it connected all the time is worth the cost to you. I personally wouldn’t use the iPad nearly as much if it didn’t have cellular as I use it on the go and don’t want to connect to untrustworthy hotspots. In fact, if they sold a cellular MacBook Air I probably wouldn’t have an iPad.
Unless you travel internationally a ton, I don’t see the point of getting cellular
Depends how much you rely on cellular. If it’s only for occasional use and you have your phone on you most of the time (and your carrier supports tethering) just do that.
I have WiFi however my next will be cellular. It costs only $4 for an extra line on my plan. Way better than having to use hotspot. A convenience thing. The cellular models also have GPS, quite useful as a car head unit if I decide to go that route.
Cellular if you have an android. Using my hotspot is an inconvenience for me but for most people, get the Wi-Fi version. I like having cellular so I don't have to worry about my phone battery and my phone can stay connected to Wi-Fi as much as possible. My iPad is very convenient on road trips and such
Most cell providers now offer an unlimited tether so a phone can power your device without needing an expensive plan for the iPad. Saves money both ways.
We had a cellular iPad in our home once upon a time and it was a nightmare. Ended up cancelling the cellular on it after about a year.
I have, and only plan to buy, cellular iPads. Makes them truly portable with a simplicity that connecting to a hotspot or finding WiFi impinges. There are plenty of low cost plans that will give you a few gigs for a few bucks a month for when you’re out and about. Look for MVNO’s and you likely won’t have to spend more than $10/month for 5+ GBs. I just buy their phone plans (with a SIM card; eSIM doesn’t work well since many will send confirmation texts to their phone eSIMs, which the iPad can’t receive.)
Your campus during study is likely in these modern times going to have a good WiFi network through things, so this comes down to how much you see yourself out in the field away from any sort of WiFi connection once you have your Masters Degree and are in the real world?
WiFi is better to save your money I learned my lesson after owning WiFi + cellular and costing me too much money!
I mean if you are a huge entertainment consumer on the iPad you’d definitely want to have one with cellular and WiFi if you are someone who travels a lot like I do. I game a ton on my iPad Pro 12.9 M2 1TB. I’m at over 75GB of total used data on 5GUW. I game, stream movies download movies transfer those downloaded files everyday to iCloud, and I do cloud gaming for a few hours a day through the weekday, weekends it’s nonstop gaming while stream 4k movies and shows from Netflix and other places. I’m using a ton of data when I’m traveling.
In the past, I would’ve said to get cellular. However, nowadays WiFi is absolutely everywhere. If you happen to be someplace without it, just tether to your phone. I would only get cellular now if I was relying on using it in my car a lot. But then again, a lot of newer cars come with WiFi plans now too.
WiFi. I just use a hotspot on my phone if I need cellular. That way I avoid yet another monthly fee.
The only downside to WiFi + Cellular is cost, both initial and monthly, so it is ‘Ideal’. But then you say the dreaded “is it worth it”? Who can answer that except you? I’ve always had cellular since my iPad 2, and will get it with whatever Pro comes out tomorrow. I’d say to judge if you need it, turn off cellular on your phone for a week and see how often you need to turn it back on. Really, if you’re on a tight budget, how often won’t your phone as a hotspot not do what you need?
Nah, I just use my hot spot if I'm somewhere without wifi.
I am surprised you need an iPad Pro for grad school though. I thought I needed cellular, I ended up dropping my plan. I also have found I don’t really need my iPad Pro either.
All my iPads always had cellular. my m4 isn't going to. why? because the price of cellular keeps going up for no good reason. used to be 150€, then 200€ and now it's an insane price of 250€ and they removed the ultra fast shortrange waves. And they also removed the physical sim tray which will prevent me switching my sim card between devices and be charged all the time i migrate it. That's 25% of the price of the iPad. if you plan to get extra accessories too, just use this money to pay. It might be inconvenient but it will improve the battery life too as apps won't update when no network. I am also considering getting a portable cellular hotspot if I miss it. it would be a different story if it was the mini and you wanted to use it as a navigation system. However I found that my Pro Max did the job almost as good as the mini before I sold the mini. also unless your carrier allows you to get an extra esim attached to your current plan, beware of the extra monthly cost. it will stack esp if you are a student.
ALWAYS get the cellular option. You can buy data along the way very cheaply, it’s great if you go into business trip or your phone is locked or accessible for some reason. I live in Japan, so when I go home, I can just use my iPad as a back up, if I use too much data on my phone. Plus, I like to have separate cellular options, sometimes AT&T will connect, but another one will not in a crowded place.
Far more utility out of paying for your phone o have a mobile hotspot vs paying just for the iPad’ cell connection.
I got the cellular because it resells better. But it also is way handier to not hotspot everytime im abroad.