Why doesn’t the Mac have built-in cellular? The iPad has long retained this one key advantage over MacBooks. Whatever issue you may have with iPadOS, cellular support is undoubtedly a strength. But despite years of waiting, there’s still little evidence that Apple is building its first cellular Mac. Except, perhaps, for one recent development that’s sparked hope again. Here’s why Apple’s next chance to offer cellular Macs is almost here.
Every time a new iPad Pro is announced, Apple’s enthusiasm over how powerful its most advanced tablet is provokes a certain level of public cynicism. Not because Apple’s claims are disputed. But because for all the power the iPad Pro boasts, it still runs iPadOS. And for some, that automatically makes it inexorably less capable than a Mac.
But one significant area where the iPad has the undisputed upper hand on the Mac is in connectivity. You can’t get a Mac with cellular, but the iPad has offered cellular since its 2010 debut. And built-in cellular can prove a major advantage for someone who values having a truly portable computer.
One of the iPad’s strengths is its portability, and a key component of that is a cellular connection. But is an always-on connection worth the up-charge Apple tacks on to cellular models? If it is, how should you go about finding the best carrier offer for a data plan?
Last year GigSky announced that it would offer iPad cellular data plans in around 90 countries by leveraging Apple’s new carrier-agnostic Apple SIM now included in the device. Today the company is expanding availability of those plans to 140+ countries, giving more iPad users the ability to purchase data plans through GigSky without going through a local carrier.
John Legere took to Twitter in a surprisingly short and subdued Tweetstorm just a short while ago to announce a new move the ‘Uncarrier’ is making this week. Ahead of its Uncarrier X event, T-Mo’s extraverted chief announced that the wireless carrier is now offering a personal 4G LTE CellSpot to any Simple Choice customer who wants one…
Apple is now faced with yet another class action lawsuit claiming that the company failed to properly educate or warn users over the potential for iOS 9’s Wi-Fi Assist to use substantial amounts of cellular data. The lawsuit arose after users complained that Wi-Fi Assist resulted in significant overages after going over their data allowance…
Although Apple originally debuted Continuity in iOS 8, enabling iPhone calls and SMS messages to be received and answered on Macs or iPads, the feature only worked when the iPhone, Macs, and iPads were on the same Wi-Fi network. Today, T-Mobile announced that it is “the only mobile network operator in the world” with support for a new and previously unannounced iOS 9 feature: Continuity support has been added to T-Mobile’s cellular network, so a Mac or iPad can receive an iOS 9 iPhone’s calls even when the iPhone isn’t on the same Wi-Fi network.
This means that “T-Mobile customers will be able to answer that important text message or call on your Mac or iPad even if you left your phone at home,” explained T-Mobile, so “you can leave your phone on your desk and just take your tablet or your Mac to your meeting and never worry about missing anything.” Implicitly, the iPad or Mac would need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network for calls and SMS messages to come through. The feature is active as of the iOS 9 beta, so “customers will need the iOS 9 beta to use the new feature, and it will be available to every T-Mobile customer with an iOS device later this year when iOS 9 is publicly available.” And there’s more…
China Unicom and China Telecom announced today that they will start selling the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 to customers starting March 27. This is the first time the carriers, two of the top three largest in the country, will offer customers in China the Wi-Fi + Cellular models of Apple’s latest generation tablets. Expand Expanding Close
AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon need to watch out. The “uncarrier” has announced yet another couple of reasons they hope will get you to ditch your current cellular provider for T-Mobile. Today, CEO John Legere and his cohorts have come out to announce that T-Mobile is now offering a 2-line family plan that comes with unlimited talk, text, and 4G data, for $100 a month.
Sprint announced today that it will begin selling cellular versions of Apple’s new iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 this week following pre-orders of the device kicking off through Apple, AT&T on Friday. Sprint also noted that the iPad Air 2, which includes support for 20 LTE bands and speeds up to 150Mbps over LTE, will be the first iPad that supports its high-speed Spark LTE network.
Sprint Spark delivers average wireless speeds of 6-15Mbps and peak wireless speeds of 50-60Mbps today on capable devices, with increasing speed potential over time. Sprint is on track to reach 100 million Americans by year-end with Sprint Spark.
The iPad mini 3, however, doesn’t support the Sprint Spark network and will instead be limited to Sprint’s normal 4G LTE network.
Sprint will have the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 later this week online and in-stores. Sprint customers can add the new tablets to a Family Share plan for $10/month per tablet, but the carrier is waiving the fee through December 2015 for customers with a 20GB Family Share plan or higher. It also has a limited time 100MB of data for $10 in addition to its normal tablet plans.
Apple is already taking orders for the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 that ship with its new universal SIM with support for AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile out of the box. Apple is expected to start shipping the new tablets this week.
Update: Many users are reporting that cellular functions and Touch ID are no longer working post update, so we would recommend holding off until further notice. Many who have updated their iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and iPhone 5s are reporting no problems, so it appears this problem is likely confined to iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Update 2: The update has been pulled. Apple has issued a statement to Re/code:
Apple has released iOS 8.0.1 to the public, and it’s rolling out now OTA to all devices capable of running iOS 8. The update’s build number is 12A402, and it packs fixes for a variety of bugs that have plagued users of version 8.0. Most notably, the new version includes a fix for the bug that was keeping HealthKit apps from the App Store. Furthermore, the update addresses a plethora of other problems including an issue with apps accessing photos from the Photo Library, a bug involving 3rd party keyboards, an issue that caused unexpected data usage when receiving SMS and MMS messages, an issue involving ringtones not being restored by iCloud, and more.
Apple confirmed today that it has released an unlocked variant of its cellular iPad in Japan allowing users to buy the device and use it with their carrier of choice. Expand Expanding Close
Regional carriers are starting to announce availability for cellular models of Apple’s new Retina iPad mini just as the company today started offering the device to walk-in customers.
Bluegrass Cellular announced today that it is now offering the iPad mini Wi-Fi Cellular models in-store and online. Available on the carrier’s website now starting at the usual $530 for the 16GB model, the carrier is also offering all three models (16GB, 32GB, and 64GB) on its no-contract “Freedom, Expanded” plan. That allows customers to make 12 monthly payments to get the device they want with the ability to trade-in and upgrade to a new device after a year. That plan will run $26.50/month for the 16GB model on Bluegrass, $31.50/month for the $630 32GB model, or $36.50/month for the $730 64GB model. The carrier appears to only have Space Gray models of the device available, at least online, and the Freedom Expanded plans are only available in-store. Another regional carrier, C Spire Wireless, will begin selling the Retina iPad mini over the next week. Update: U.S. Cellular has also begun cellular iPad mini with Retina Display sales today on its website.
In other Retina iPad mini news, we’ve just received word Apple has just started selling the device to walk-in customers in its retail stores following an initial launch for Personal Pickup orders only.
Since the old iWatch rumor reared its head again in December, there have been a few more reliable sources adding weight to the idea that we could see a smart watch from Apple this year. Over the weekend, The New York Times, which said essentially the same thing in 2011, followed up the rumors with a report that Apple is working on a curved glass watch prototype running iOS. The Wall Street Journal quickly followed with more information, claiming Apple and partner Foxconn are now testing wearable, watch-like devices.
While many have speculated what Apple might include in an iWatch, such as Apple employee #66 and founder of Apple’s Human Interface Group Bruce Tognazzini, all we get from reports is “curved glass” and “iOS”. Apple has clearly been testing wearable prototypes with several patents dating as far back as 2009, describing potential integration with wristwatches and iOS devices. By taking a look at the technology for watches that Apple is already experimenting with through the many publicly available patents, we put together a list of some of the features the company could very well include in an Apple-branded smart watch. Expand Expanding Close
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