The iPad has options for wifi only or wifi and cellular. The number of times I would use cellular is minimal, such as when taking a trip and wanting to get directions or a map. Therefore it doesn't make much sense to pay a monthly fee for something likely used once or twice a year.

I have an iPhone 6 and am considering the new iPad. With the two products being Apple, and the iPhone having cellular capability, would I be able to 'piggyback' the cellular capability of the iPhone onto the iPad?

Hi Ryck, you ask some good questions here and I am sure you are not alone in this.

There are two issues in your situation that drive a solution:

WiFi + Cellular, and the age of your present iPhone....let's talk about where the iPhone stands in this first, then look to the WiFi + Cellular concern right after that.

Your iPhone 6 is at the end of its' life technologically speaking....this doesn't make it a bad smart phone, just one that technology advances have overrun. Today's iPhone is equipped with internal capabilities which your iiPhone 6 can not match or support. These differences are hardware-based (more cellular bands, better cellular modems, greater data transmission speeds, significantly faster internal processors, much more internal memory, etc), but these hardware shortfalls are highlighted by the software capabilities that the iPhone 6 can no longer take advantage of.....the current release of iOS and all future releases of iOS can not run on your iPhone 6 because the hardware you hold in your hand won't support what has become todays' standard. In other words, before you can consider whether a new iPad should have both WiFi and Cellular capabilities to work in consonance with your iPhone, you should consider getting a new iPhone first.

With current iPhone hardware and software in-hand (the entry level bar is set reasonably low with the iPhone SE2....), you can then make a much more reasonable appraisal of which iPad will meet your needs. Most users' needs do not require an iPad with cellular data capability....but their wants, on the other hand, drive that decision. If your cellular data plan for the iPhone includes tethering (where you use the iPhone as a cellular hotspot to provide a WiFi link to your iPad), then your iPad can access the internet outside of the range of a normal WiFi network by using the iPhones' cellular data over WiFi and therefore does not require any cellular capability (either hardware or a standalone data plan) of its' own. It will be your cellular carrier who drives the choice in the end simply because the cost of cellular data for high volume use (such as streaming movies to the iPad) can become crazy expensive if the wrong plan is used.

I hope this makes more answers rather than raising more questions.....

MacManiac has an excellent analysis of the options.

My personal experience is:

• Cellular service for an iPad typically runs $15 to $20 a month
• You can get it monthly, but too often I found I forgot to turn it off so the cost continued whether I was using iPad Cellular or not
• Adding hot spot capability to my iPhone was free
• The few times I have needed to use cellular on my iPad are few and far between
• In several years of use, I have NEVER regretted not having cellular service on my iPad.

First, thanks for taking the time to do such a comprehensive analysis. It’s appreciated.


Ironically, for us, our iPhone 6’s are a dramatic technological leap forward. Until a few months ago we were sharing an old Motorola Razr. A friend and her partner decided to get new iPhones and gave us their iPhone 6’s. Woohoo!!!


And that makes my query moot. My wife and I are among those rare beasts (I believe Jon is also one) who see a phone as a device to, well, make phone calls. We like the idea that our phones can do things like take pictures or recognize bugs and flowers in the forest but, if they didn’t do that it we’d be happy just to phone. And, we’ll hang onto them until forced to get something else.

The tethering (I’ve now learned the right terminology) would have been nice but it’s absence isn’t a showstopper.

You're right about my attitude toward cell phones. The features of smartphones are admittedly nice, but I'm retired and don't need anything other than the ability to make a phone call. If I want to photograph something, my Nikon D810 does a superb job and I have almost unlimited control of the photographic parameters. As a dedicated hobbyist, I don't like a camera that doesn't allow me to tweak all the settings.

As to other features, I do not like the fact that I can be tracked by my smartphone. I may be old-fashioned, but privacy is important to me.

I see a great picture opportunity, but as usual, my camera is safely tucked away in its case, in my house, in my closet, 1,500 miles away. My iPhone, however, is in my pocket and with the help of Halide or more often Pro Camera I have absolute control over every aspect from shutter speed, to lens opening, to manual or autofocus, to color, and how the image will be saved if I want it. (Of course by the time I go through all those settings the subject has long since disappeared. 😠 So I usually just take the picture in raw mode and make all those choices later at my leisure.😎)

Thanks for posting that, Joe. I had no idea that there could be that much flexibility with an iPhone. And, an iPhone weighs a lot less than my Nikon!

The camera in recent model iPhones is pretty amazing in both feature set and results. But it is apps like Halide and ProCamera that makes the difference. Of the two ProCamera has more of a "studio" feel while Halide is pure "camera".

By-the-way there are several apps that use some form of Pro & Camera in their name. IMHO the one I linked is IMHOI the best, offers the most settings, and has the best add-on features such as Low Light mode.

One more to add to the list is Camera+ 2. This has similar abilities to control exposure, RAW editing, effects, bracketing, and its own light box for manipulation.

It is a paid app, and well worth the cost IMHO.