Roger Fingas
As of this week, 4G iPad buyers will no longer be able to claim a free 200-megabyte data plan with T-Mobile U.S., the carrier has announced.
The Free Data for Life tier is no longer available for new activations, T-Mobile said in a support document. Existing plans will continue to work, but are attached to individual devices — meaning that anyone upgrading to a new iPad will be forced to choose a paid plan.
Under the company's One unlimited tier, adding a tablet costs $20 per month on top of the $75 for phone service.
The end of the Free Data for Life promotion could support rumors that Apple is preparing to refresh the iPad Pro line. The company is expected to upgrade the specifications of the 12.9-inch model, while simultaneously introducing a new 10.5-inch form factor.
In recent weeks, the availability of 12.9-inch Pros has shrunk considerably. New U.S. orders aren't slated to ship until between May 22 and 30, which could be when new Pros will go on sale.
In March Apple replaced the iPad Air 2 with a $329 "budget" iPad, sporting a faster A9 processor but a screen borrowed from the original Air.
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Charles Martin
5 Comments
Bummer. That was a nice backup plan for my iPad when I forgot my phone. Good for hours of Skype voice calls. I should be grateful they didn't cut it off completely.
When I called to switch to the new One plan a few months back, I found out that the "200MB for life" plan was no longer available. Data plans for my 2 iPads would become astronomical. However, considering the generous tethering allowance it's not a big deal, but it's something to keep an eye out for if you're migrating to the new plan.
I agree with Charles. I do the same thing with my iPad mini2. Backup for when I am away from home. It is the only Data Plan I have. I have 7 cell phones, 3 for me and 4 for the Grandkids, all iPhone 5 and above (get them at Wal-Mart for $99 brand new), unlimited talk and text on Line2. Cost $75.41 total, none of them have a data plan, just WIFI when they are at home. Thankful T-Mobile is still honoring existing customers. 200MB meets my needs when I am in the car.
I think this is stupid for T-Mobile to do.
Everyone else charges you a monthly fee (either 5$ for no data, or 20$ with some amount of data) to keep a device on. A device that you may use 2 days out of the month on LTE and the rest of the time on WiFi.
These usage cases vary, but typically people do not use their iPad in the same way they use the iPhone. An iPhone is constantly on and when people need directions they use it. An iPad is typically not used continuously outside, and more typically used as an eBook/Maps device when outside the home and away from Wifi.
All this is going to do is make people tether their iPads to their iPhones if they have them, thus denying T-mobile any ability to upgrade the plan on the device.
It also needs to be said that in-car WiFi is now a thing. So you may be better off having your kids in the car using their iPad's with the Car's Wifi if it has a built in LTE modem, or can use one plugged into the USB outlets.