iPad or iPad Mini?

[kaankorkmaz]

I can't decide between the 9.7 inch iPad and 7.9 inch iPad Mini. There seems to be a few differences besides the screen size difference. The Mini has the anti-reflective screen coating which I think would be beneficial for our purposes. It's also easier to carry than 9.7" iPad. I would also have to buy a mount if I end up buying the 9.7 inch iPad.

What do you all think? Is it worth it to buy the 9.7" iPad just for the bigger screen? I would assume bigger is better but does it really make that big of a difference?

Are there any benefits of wifi + cellular for drone flying? If not, I will buy the wifi only.

Thanks in advance,
Kaan

 

[msinger]

Are there any benefits of wifi + cellular for drone flying? If not, I will buy the wifi only.

With the cellular model, you'll be able to access the Internet if the cellular service has been activated. That'll allow you to do things like download and display maps in real-time or stream your flights live to YouTube. If you don't activate the cellular service, you could still access the Internet by connecting your iPad to a hotspot running on a mobile phone.

The cellular Apple models also contain a GPS receiver. With GPS on your mobile device, you can:

1) Use the Follow Me flight mode
2) Manually reset the home point to your current location after taking off

The above GPS-related features will work even if the cellular service has not been activated. All other GPS-related features (e.g. RTH) use data from the Mavic's internal GPS receiver.

 

[FL1H1]

I can't decide between the 9.7 inch iPad and 7.9 inch iPad Mini. There seems to be a few differences besides the screen size difference. The Mini has the anti-reflective screen coating which I think would be beneficial for our purposes. It's also easier to carry than 9.7" iPad. I would also have to buy a mount if I end up buying the 9.7 inch iPad.

What do you all think? Is it worth it to buy the 9.7" iPad just for the bigger screen? I would assume bigger is better but does it really make that big of a difference?

Are there any benefits of wifi + cellular for drone flying? If not, I will buy the wifi only.

Thanks in advance,
Kaan

I have the mini ipad 4 and I personally, found it a little uncomfortable held in the hands wedged in the handles like a phone SO, I got a tablet holder bracket for it which I regard as brilliant HOWEVER, the ipad mini imo is heavy enough. A full ipad would almost undoubtedly be far too top heavy for my liking and I consider the screen to be sufficiently big - bigger isn't always better, I mean, you wouldn't rate a 50 inch smart TV attached to it as better just because its bigger would you? Oh, buy cellular - it doesn't use much data so get a pay as you go, data only sim card from Amazon as well

Anbee Foldable 4-10 Inch Phone / Tablet Extended Front Holder - Over Display Mount for DJI Mavic Pro & Spark Drone Remote Controller, Free Neck Strap

 

[Just_nick]

Remember, if you get the iPad 5th or 6th gen, you are getting a larger screen and a far superior device. The Mini 4 is old tech with a slow processor. If you look at the Geekbench scores, the difference in performance is hilarious.

 

[Mr. Salty]

And to add another option, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro has the brightest screen and a processor that can easily edit 4k video. The physical size is almost the same as the 9.7-inch because it just has narrower bezels.

As far as size goes, that's going to be up to your preference. We can't really advise you on that.

 

[kaankorkmaz]

With the cellular model, you'll be able to access the Internet if the cellular service has been activated. That'll allow you to do things like download and display maps in real-time or stream your flights live to YouTube. If you don't activate the cellular service, you could still access the Internet by connecting your iPad to a hotspot running on a mobile phone.

The cellular Apple models also contain a GPS receiver. With GPS on your mobile device, you can:

1) Use the Follow Me flight mode
2) Manually reset the home point to your current location after taking off
3) Auto reset the home point to your current location as you're flying in the ActiveTrack flight mode

The above GPS-related features will work even if the cellular service has not been activated. All other GPS-related features (e.g. RTH) use data from the Mavic's internal GPS receiver.

Thanks for your response. Three features you listed, can they be used if I access the internet through hotspot from a phone?

 

[kaankorkmaz]

And to add another option, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro has the brightest screen and a processor that can easily edit 4k video. The physical size is almost the same as the 9.7-inch because it just has narrower bezels.

As far as size goes, that's going to be up to your preference. We can't really advise you on that.

Thanks for the feedback. Being able to edit 4k video on the Pro is amazing but it's a little too expensive. Almost x2 more expensive than the 9.7 inch iPad.

 

[Mr. Salty]

Thanks for the feedback. Being able to edit 4k video on the Pro is amazing but it's a little too expensive. Almost x2 more expensive than the 9.7 inch iPad.

That's true. I got lucky and found one on sale at Target for a really good price right before Christmas.

I was able to justify it because an iPad is what I use as a computer about 90 percent of the time. If you're going to use it as a dedicated device for flying and not much else, it would be too much.

That said, I love the size of the bigger screens, and new iPads (not the Pro) still may be able to edit 4k. I'm not sure about that, though.

 

[msinger]

Three features you listed, can they be used if I access the internet through hotspot from a phone?

No. Connecting to a hotspot will not share GPS data.

You can add GPS to a mobile device by connecting an external GPS receiver like the Garmin GLO (or one of these GPS receivers).