iPad advice

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I am having some issues deciding which iPad to get for my P4P.....I think I want the mini 4 but then look at the iPad 2017 and think

1. Is a bigger screen worth the extra weight over the mini 4?

2. Is the A-9 or A-10 chipset a worthwhile upgrade over the mini’s A-8?

Any advice would be appreciated as I do not want to get one then have to upgrade next year as it either works or I find out the mini 4 A-8 chip can’t keep up.

Cheers
 
I am having some issues deciding which iPad to get for my P4P.....I think I want the mini 4 but then look at the iPad 2017 and think

1. Is a bigger screen worth the extra weight over the mini 4?

2. Is the A-9 or A-10 chipset a worthwhile upgrade over the mini’s A-8?

Any advice would be appreciated as I do not want to get one then have to upgrade next year as it either works or I find out the mini 4 A-8 chip can’t keep up.

Cheers
As a newbie I wanted to go all out especially since I passed my part 107 and plan on using it. I bought the larger ipad as I wanted the bigger screen. It is working fine. I use a neck harness so the weight is not an issue. Actually bought it at Best Buy for a good price. Much cheaper than the Apple store.
 
I used the iPad Air that I had for a while but thought it was to heavy and bulky. Best Buy put the iPad Mini4 on sale for $299. I bought it and really glad I did. It works great for me personally.
 
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I am having some issues deciding which iPad to get for my P4P.....I think I want the mini 4 but then look at the iPad 2017 and think

1. Is a bigger screen worth the extra weight over the mini 4?

2. Is the A-9 or A-10 chipset a worthwhile upgrade over the mini’s A-8?

Any advice would be appreciated as I do not want to get one then have to upgrade next year as it either works or I find out the mini 4 A-8 chip can’t keep up.

Cheers

The iPad Mini is old tech, VERY old. It's almost 4-years-old, and it does not hold a candle to the A9 or A10 in the new iPads. Unless you absolutely need the tiny form factor, for something like using a Mavic Pro's stock holder, the newer iPads are a big upgrade. There are already people starting to complain about the Mini 4 having issues with the GPU saying it's maxed out, and it will only get worse as DJI makes their program bigger and more feature-rich. The A9 and A10 will have a much longer timeframe before this becomes an issue, because the CPU is vastly superior, especially the A10.

Also, I don't know what the one guy is talking about, but the iPad pro is brighter than the iPad Mini 4, and so is the new iPad. The iPad Mini 4 is capable of 450 nits, the iPad Pro is 511, and the 2018 iPad is 489. So, the Mini loses there, too. The only thing going for the Mini is the size. That's pretty much it, because the price difference really isn't that great.
 
iPad 6 starts at 329 and has huge processor improvement over the mini line. The mini is a dead product that hasn’t been updated for years. It’s really at the tail end of marginal performance. Too bad they haven’t updated it but I think it’s over.
 
iPad 6 starts at 329 and has huge processor improvement over the mini line. The mini is a dead product that hasn’t been updated for years. It’s really at the tail end of marginal performance. Too bad they haven’t updated it but I think it’s over.

Unfortunately, the iPad 6 with 128GB of storage north of the border here in Canada runs in the neighbourhood of 550 give or take. A new iPad Pro is just over a thousand which is why I don’t want to be forced into an upgrade every year or two just to fly my drone!!!

In the end, I kept looking at the iPad for the screen size but was a little nervous about the weight once you add the remote....sounds like it’s not that bad.
 
Try used. I bought a used iPad Pro with cellular and Wi-Fi 128gb for 450. And not scared to buy a used Apple product. They last.
 
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Try used. I bought a used iPad Pro with cellular and Wi-Fi 128gb for 450. And not scared to buy a used Apple product. They last.

Where are you located? Is it worth it to get the cellular option? I would never get a data plan for it....
 
The weight doesn’t bother me. The iPad mini 4 is .73 pounds. The iPad Pro 9.7” is .96 pounds. Negligible
 
Where are you located? Is it worth it to get the cellular option? I would never get a data plan for it....

Vegas. I don’t activate the cell service. If I need it, i tether it off my iPhone. I got the cell model for the GPS which I use for other apps. Don’t really need it for DJI GO.
 
I got the cell model for the GPS which I use for other apps. Don’t really need it for DJI GO.

If you don’t activate it with a data plan what does it do with reference to GPS? I was planning on using Litchi instead of DJI GO but I’ve yet to actually fly it because I don’t have a screen big enough.
 
Regarding used. I’ve bought tons of new and used Apple products for the last 30 years. Never a problem with used. YMMV. wait. Correct that. Three years ago I bought a used MacBook Pro from Craigslist. Went to upgrade the ram and wouldn’t accept any new ram. Unit was way out of warranty. Took to Apple store and they replaced the entire unit with brand new one. One year out of warranty. So I’m pretty ok with used stuff when it comes to Apple. Again. YMMV
 
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If you don’t activate it with a data plan what does it do with reference to GPS? I was planning on using Litchi instead of DJI GO but I’ve yet to actually fly it because I don’t have a screen big enough.

Unfortunately there are always two models of each iPad. One with cellular and one without. However, if you NEED GPS you have to spend the extra modem tax to get cellular which includes the GPS model. The GPS does not need or use cellular service other than to get gps you buy the one that also has cellular.

There’s some misinformation on these forums about tethering: if you tether your phone to your iPad to get cell service, the phone does not and cannot provide GPS to the iPad. It only provides an internet connection.

Two options: if you need gps get the cell model or get a Wi-Fi module and use an app external bluetooth GPS unit like the bad elf. Expensive option but is an option.
 
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Unfortunately there are always two models of each iPad. One with cellular and one without. However, if you NEED GPS you have to spend the extra modem tax to get cellular which includes the GPS model. The GPS does not need or use cellular service other than to get gps you buy the one that also has cellular.

There’s some misinformation on these forums about tethering: if you tether your phone to your iPad to get cell service, the phone does not and cannot provide GPS to the iPad. It only provides an internet connection.

Two options: if you need gps get the cell model or get a Wi-Fi module and use an app external bluetooth GPS unit like the bad elf. Expensive option but is an option.

What “enhancement” or benefit does having GPS enabled over WIFI give you when flying?
 
Actually there is no gps data fed to you via cellular. It’s a separate antenna.

As far as needing GPS on your iPad while flying? Zero. Well, there is a intelligent flight mode feature called “follow me” that needs gps of the iPad to follow you. It’s been replaced by active track.

The only other feature would be if you moved yourself when flying and wanted to reset the return to home feature to your new location. Then that would need gps in your iPad.

Haven’t used either in a year of flying. But you might.

My iPad does have gps but as I stated previously, I use it for other apps that need gps.
 
Actually there is no gps data fed to you via cellular. It’s a separate antenna.

As far as needing GPS on your iPad while flying? Zero. Well, there is a intelligent flight mode feature called “follow me” that needs gps of the iPad to follow you. It’s been replaced by active track.

The only other feature would be if you moved yourself when flying and wanted to reset the return to home feature to your new location. Then that would need gps in your iPad.

Haven’t used either in a year of flying. But you might.

My iPad does have gps but as I stated previously, I use it for other apps that need gps.

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it. So I assume “active track” is basically enabled and replaces “follow me” with a firmware\app update?
 
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It’s been there a while. Both are there but most people have migrated to active track since it can track you or anything else. Follow me does just that. Follows your iPads movement. Active track is much better.

One tracks an object by looking at the video feed (tracking an object) while the other just sees if your ipad moved its location.
 
Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it. So I assume “active track” is basically enabled and replaces “follow me” with a firmware\app update?
It was written with the P3 line in mind, but you should be able to get a good understanding in this post.
 
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I got the iPad pro 10.5 to be able to show and edit 4K material on site without much hassle and headache. iPad Mini is ok if it's only for flying purposes. A8 chip is getting dated. I myself got an extra battery instead of a Cellular model. Couldn't really justify the price premium in this one and figured I'll have much more use of the extra battery.
If you have the extra cash lying around it doesn't hurt to get the GPS also.
 
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