Good question. That's what I tell myself. One lighting port. iPad GPS sucks because it's a stupid expense. Any GPS coupled to LTE data is stupid, IMO. GPS works at cruise, LTE works where? Idk, a few thousand feet. I don't like that I have to buy into LTE when I can build my own GPS. It's like putting a subscription price on my knowledge of the RF spectrum.
Where this ties into aviation safety is beyond me. I'm glad Apple is a major contenter in the airspace, but that doesn't extend to calling it a solution.
IMO a freaking GPS should not have to include a subscription. I'd rather work off lat and lon, as I have since HS.
Um... The GPS in today's mobile devices is NOT dependent on a subscription, or an LTE signal - For the most part.
Back when there were a lot more car-style GPS units out, it was possible for them to get lost if you turned them off and then moved them, and when you first bought them, you generally had to tell them where you were. That's because most all GPS units have/had the ability to only listen to maybe 4-12 "channels" at a time (you can think of them like frequencies, although there are fewer frequencies and GPS uses a form of CDMA to distinguish between satellites). But, the GPS constellation consists of at least 24 satellites (currently 31), and if the receiver doesn't know what time it is and approximately where it is (within a couple hundred miles), it won't know which channels to listen for. So it tries the first channels, and where it gets a signal, great - But if it doesn't pick up enough satellites in the first group it tries, it has to use its remaining free channels to try and pick up more satellites. Meanwhile, some of the ones it picked up in the first group may go over the horizon and be lost, and if the device can't pick up and hold onto 4-5 satellites fast enough to calculate a position, it will fail.
The mobile devices use "Assisted GPS", wherein they can listen for the nearest cell tower, and get the tower's position and time, so that they can quickly utilize that information to know exactly which GPS satellites are "visible" and connect to those first. In doing so, it can calculate the first position MUCH faster than a standalone non-assisted GPS.
Now, if you're flying, yes, you'll lose LTE signal. But it only matters for helping to determine an initial position fix, after which it knows where it is, where it's going, and what time it is and is able to continue locking onto new satellites as they come over the horizon. The cell signal is really only needed to get the initial position fix and time - And you don't need a subscription to get that information.
I have an iPad Mini 4 and absolutely love it. Unfortunately, it appears that Apple may be discontinuing the Mini Model type as there haven’t been any upgrades to it in over a year. We’ll know for sure by Christmas if they don’t offer a new Mini model by then.
They discontinued the iPad Mini (not officially, but pretty much) when the iPad Nano (er, iPhone 6 Plus) came out.
While they haven't officially announced the discontinuation of the Mini, the iPad Mini 4 came out in 2015. That's VERY long in the tooth for any device, and indicates that Apple probably abandoned that line long ago. But, I'm hoping that they'll "iPhone X-ify" it - The iPhone X combines the screen size of the larger iPhone "plus" models with the physical size of the mid-sized iPhones. And it does look like at least some of those improvements will be incorporated into the iPad line here in a couple of weeks (Sept. 12th is Apple's next announcement event).
It's funny how our experiences color out viewpoint and makes an answer which is good for some not for others.
When I bought my first iPad (1st Gen), the decision was based on it being mainly for flying. I went with WiFi only deciding that an external GPS was the way to go. As I thought about my second purchase, I realized I was using my iPad for much more. Basically, it supplanted my laptop when away from home unless it was a business trip, and was being used for both business and pleasure. In fact, the app I would miss the most if I switched to Android full time is not an aviation app.
What is it???
On the other hand, if one could indash permanenently mount iPad in place of factory infotainment system, it’d be pretty awesome
It's been done...
