I'm thinking of using an iPad mini with a MavMount instead of my iPhone 7, but am wondering what the pros and cons are of doing so.  A couple things that come to mind:

Pro:  No interruptions from incoming phone calls, messages, push notifications, etc.
Con:  No ability to load Google maps.

What else am I missing?  Is there a case for or against using a cellular device instead of wifi only?  I suppose I could always tether to my iPhone.

Thanks for your feedback.

I had the same dilemma, my phone was due for upgrade (Android) and had seen all the reports of issues they were having and was thinking of either the I phone 6 plus  , or the 7.

But what swung me was a far bigger screen and still being able to fit in the controller, therefore i decided to fork out for a Ipad Mini 4 Wifi only (just cache the maps before hand)

Pro's : Big screen, far easier to see, cache the maps at home before leaving to fly.

Cons Only con i can see is not being able to use follow me, or change the home point during flight unless you use a mob to hotspot to for the data.

As Car147 mentioned, the biggest advantage -- by far in my opinion -- is having a larger screen. That makes flying safer and more enjoyable because you can make out more details. And yes, I suppose that with the tablet there's no chance of getting a phone call, but you can always set your phone to airplane mode to achieve the same result.

As far as the maps go, you don't have to have a cellular-enabled tablet for that. Just enable your phone's mobile hotspot feature and connect the tablet to it via wifi. That's what many of us do and it works very well. Or, as Car suggested, you can just cache the maps prior to your flight, but that's more of a hassle because you have to remember to do it in advance.

I'm flying these aircraft 4 years only used maps twice, wouldn't be worried about them. iPad mini is fine although I use my iPhone 7 all the time with my Mavic, only thing is I have to wear glasses.

I have given thought to getting an iPad Mini with data.  As I understand, this would have all of the features offered by an iPhone, including live maps and active tracking, but without incoming calls (the biggest annoyance of using an iPhone).  And it can share the data plan that my phone is on.

The con is that an iPad Mini with wifi and data is just more expensive than without data...........

NoSale Posted at 2017-4-18 12:59
I have given thought to getting an iPad Mini with data.  As I understand, this would have all of the features offered by an iPhone, including live maps and active tracking, but without incoming calls (the biggest annoyance of using an iPhone).  And it can share the data plan that my phone is on.

The con is that an iPad Mini with wifi and data is just more expensive than without data...........

If you're going to have your phone with you, anyway, why both getting the iPad version with data? Is using the phone as a hotspot forbidden by your carrier?

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-4-18 13:25
If you're going to have your phone with you, anyway, why both getting the iPad version with data? Is using the phone as a hotspot forbidden by your carrier?

My understanding is that while data can be shared via hotspot, the iPhone GPS isn't passed to the device; so no live maps/active tracking.  Now maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that an iPad Mini 4 w/data does have its own GPS.  Is this wrong?

Frankly, I'm still fine with using my iPhone 6, but think the day may come where I want a bigger display and would like to avoid getting calls midflight.  It would be useful if Verizon had a feature to send directly to voice mail, but haven't found that yet.

Next iPhone will likely be a Plus version..........

NoSale Posted at 2017-4-18 13:30
My understanding is that while data can be shared via hotspot, the iPhone GPS isn't passed to the device; so no live maps/active tracking.  Now maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that an iPad Mini 4 w/data does have its own GPS.  Is this wrong?

Frankly, I'm still fine with using my iPhone 6, but think the day may come where I want a bigger display and would like to avoid getting calls midflight.  It would be useful if Verizon had a feature to send directly to voice mail, but haven't found that yet.

Mapping and anything else that requires data will work just fine while tethered, remember the map is reporting on the Mavic's flightpath, not your phone's location. I'm pretty sure whitelisting also uses the GPS in the Mavic, so that should work as well, but maybe someone else can confirm.

Active Tracking doesn't use GPS, you're thinking about Follow Me, which I'm guessing won't work very well if at all, but then it doesn't work really well or at all for lots of us, anyway (the feature seems to require more satellites/signal than the Mavic does to actually fly). Probably add setting the homepoint as your current location as well to that list that would require a cellular-capable iPad.

NoSale Posted at 2017-4-18 13:30
My understanding is that while data can be shared via hotspot, the iPhone GPS isn't passed to the device; so no live maps/active tracking.  Now maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that an iPad Mini 4 w/data does have its own GPS.  Is this wrong?

Frankly, I'm still fine with using my iPhone 6, but think the day may come where I want a bigger display and would like to avoid getting calls midflight.  It would be useful if Verizon had a feature to send directly to voice mail, but haven't found that yet.

I was under the impression that an iPad Mini 4 w/data does have its own GPS. Is this wrong?

No, you're correct: the cellular Mini includes its own GPS but the wifi-only one doesn't, and a phone's GPS location isn't "shared" when it's connected via hot spot to an iPad. But as Ex Machina said, dynamic maps work just fine with that configuration because it's the Mavic's GPS location that's used for the lookup and the only thing that doesn't work is Follow Me (not to be confused with the similar-sounding Active Track) and dynamically updating the home point to the current location of the remote.

In that case, I can see where GPS is not really that necessary.  Tethering should be sufficient for using data, and if Follow Me is used, I can always pull the iPhone out.  

As I mentioned, I'm really fine just using my iPhone, but have considered the benefits of a larger display.  I can't see using Follow Me for much serious videography in lining up the right shot, pan, reveals, etc.  Just some novel tracking.

Thanks for offering the information........