Android person wants stable tablet recommendation (iPad?)

[SeaComms]

Just looked on the Apple website comparison page and it lists the GPS/GLONASS only in the cellular models.

 

[ThisIsCusel]

I'd rather crash and burn my Mav than give Apple a nickel of my money. How's that for heartburn!

 

[Fletcher500]

Ipad mini 4..no issues.

I bought the one with cellular, but will not activate the cellular plan, because it has the GPS chip so I can eventually use the follow me functions.

 

[geigy]

I bought an iPad mini 4 a few days at the Apple Store - wifi only, no cellular, and asked the sales person whether it had GPS, exactly for the reason Fletcher mentioned to support the various follow me modes, and resetting the home location. She said it did have GPS, and it does. I can see my location as a blue dot on google maps.

 

[SeaComms]

Interesting! Def not what it says on the website iPad - Compare Models


Cut from iPad mini 4 specs:

All models
Digital compass
Wi-Fi
iBeacon microlocation

Wi-Fi + Cellular model
Assisted GPS and GLONASS
Mobile data

 

[geigy]

Whoops! Checked some more and my iPad 4 wifi only does not have GPS after all. My apologies to those who I misinformed. Darn, and I specifically asked the person at the Apple store if it had GPS. Ah well.

 

[nrussell]

I use an iPad Air and have just over 100 flights so far with zero issues. I've not tried using my Android Galaxy phone, FYI. The posts I've read suggest DJI products may work best with Apple.

 

[SeaComms]

Whoops! Checked some more and my iPad 4 wifi only does not have GPS after all. My apologies to those who I misinformed. Darn, and I specifically asked the person at the Apple store if it had GPS. Ah well.

A sales person got it wrong! They need to stop calling them the genius bar...

 

[geigy]

LOL - "genius bar" - good one. So, I'm going in tomorrow to return my iPad mini 4 wifi, and buy up to the wifi/cellular one with GPS. Thanks for the information, everyone. This group is a valuable resource.

 

[SeaComms]

LOL - "genius bar" - good one. So, I'm going in tomorrow to return my iPad mini 4 wifi, and buy up to the wifi/cellular one with GPS. Thanks for the information, everyone. This group is a valuable resource.

That's actually what they call the Apple stores service counter down here, is that not what they are all called? I did laugh when I first had to go to one and I had to tell them how to fix the problem I had..

 

[Blueabyss]

What is the difference in an Air and a Mini. Not knowledgeable on Apple. And why on earth would anyone make tablet without gps?

 

[Gilly]

I use an iPad Air 2, used the Mini 2 to start with but upgraded and haven't looked back, sometimes its a bit too big but the screen more than makes up for it and they are not too heavy. I've flown 2 batteries and had no complaints of aching wrists.

I have used a Huawei P9 phone and had no connection issues but that was a few firmwares ago so it may not be the same story now.

Difference between a Mini is you guessed it the Mini is smaller, and the Air is a thinned down full size tablet.

 

[geigy]

OK, I went back to the Apple store and exchanged my iPad mini 4 wifi for a wifi+wireless. Now I have GPS. Thanks to those on this thread who pointed this out. You guys are golden.

 

[Fletcher500]

I use an Ipad for offshore Navigation in the ocean, and the Ipad mini with no wifi was not showing my position accurately.

I therefore bought the larger Ipad, wifi enabled, but did not sign up for a cellular plan, and the Nav program I use in the ocean on my boat works great. IE, my GPS position is dead on.

With that said, I figured any of the Ipads with cellular capability had the GPS chip, but I may be mistaken based on what is posted in this string.

In any event, I am using the Ipad Min4 now, cellular capable, but I did not sign up for the cellular plan.

So my question; has anyone used the Ipad Mini 4, with cell capable, no wifi plan, and were you able to use the Mavic follow me functions?

Interesting! Def not what it says on the website iPad - Compare Models


Cut from iPad mini 4 specs:

All models
Digital compass
Wi-Fi
iBeacon microlocation

Wi-Fi + Cellular model
Assisted GPS and GLONASS
Mobile data

 

[geigy]

I have not used the "follow me" function since upgrading from the iPad Mini 4 wifi to wifi +Cellular, but I can confirm that other GPS functions work correctly, and the unit does indeed have GPS. Verify this by going to Settings>Privacy>Location Settings and you will see GPS mentioned in the description of the location service. On the wifi only iPad, GPS is not mentioned.

As a side note, when I returned my original wifi-only iPad to Apple yesterday, I asked carefully whether it supported GPS or not, since this was why I was returning it. The sales person said it did have GPS, but that it used wifi to determine its location. The cellular iPad would know its location without the wifi connection. So, there is a little vagueness in the terminology, with "GPS" and "Location Service" being blurred somewhat, even among the Apple store folks. I also found the specification page for the iPad on the Apple site to be a bit confusing.

 

[Fletcher500]

Makes sense. When I was using an Ipad with Wifi only as a supplemental boat Nav GPS, (no cell capability), it always showed my position about 100 ft. off the mark. I therefore assumed it was using some other type of interface for triangulation.

In any event, sounds like the way to go for an Ipad is with the cellular, but the good news is purchasing the phone plan is not required because it does have its own integral GPS.

I have not used the "follow me" function since upgrading from the iPad Mini 4 wifi to wifi +Cellular, but I can confirm that other GPS functions work correctly, and the unit does indeed have GPS. Verify this by going to Settings>Privacy>Location Settings and you will see a separate item for enabling the GPS hardware. This setting is not there for the wifi only model of the iPad Mini 4.

As a side note, when I returned my original wifi-only iPad to Apple yesterday, I asked carefully whether it supported GPS or not, as this was my reason for returning it. The sales person said it did have GPS, but that it used wifi to determine its location. The cellular iPad would know its location without the wifi connection. So, there is a little vagueness in the terminology, with "GPS" and "Location Service" being blurred somewhat, even among the Apple store folks. I also found the specification page for the iPad on the Apple site to be a bit confusing.

 

[TTFullTimer]

Reasons, yes. I'm over a barrel, gritting my teeth, and about to plunk down for an iPad. Yuck, but hey, I wanna start doing longer flights without worrying about rebooting in hopes of not losing the whole drone!

Before you buy, research the exact features. The Wifi version of the iPad 4 actually costs more than the Wifi/Cellular version, and they do not have GPS - so some of the DJI Go functions (follow me, change Home during flight) will not work. The larger iPad costs the same, and has longer battery life. So, things like that could lead to buyer's remorse.

I'm heading to the Apple Store later this afternoon and may line Apple's pockets with some of my money earned on Windows and Android software..

<moan>I really dislike this, since I left the Macintosh world, with prejudice, in the 90's - great hardware and software but the company is antithetical to my philosophy of open hardware and software standards. So this really stings, especially because it's just unstable, poorly tested software driving the deal. I'd rather pay more money for a solid Android system, but there appears to be no such thing in the DJI world. I swear Apple should buy DJI and put the Android port out of its misery</moan>

I will not even allow Apple Crapple in my house.

Samsung Tab S2 on Marshmallow works perfectly. And the screen is bright enough for full sun over the shoulder viewing.

 

[Fletcher500]

I love Apple products. 10 years ago I made the switch after buying new pcs for my kids every few years because they were crashing. They used The same mac books through high school and college, with no issues. In my experience they are rocksolid and the operating system is excellent.

I will not even allow Apple Crapple in my house.

Samsung Tab S2 on Marshmallow works perfectly. And the screen is bright enough for full sun over the shoulder viewing.

 

[tomc5179]

Another Tab S2 owner here with the latest 800 update and no problems so far. Have owned and flown the mavic for a couple months.

 

[RTJersek]

I just bought the 2017 iPad 9.7 128Gb wifi only, I use my iPhone as a hotspot to load all of the maps. Dynamic location works also as it's getting location from my phone, it's really nice flying the mavic with a big screen,