Staples just had a special on the Air 2 for $350 and I read a blog indicating the Air 2 will likely go as low as $299 during Black Friday.  I presume this is the Wifi only model ... before I buy the wrong version, can somebody confirm whether the 4G version is really needed if you want to move and still have the P3 find your new location when using return to home?  I thought I read the Wifi version still has GPS enabled....

I'd be shocked if the GPS was not independent of the cellular service; I have an old HP Touchpad that is WiFi only, and it has GPS capabilities.

No GPS in wifi only models. You need to buy a Bluetooth GPS module like Dual GPS and run it with the wifi only version, then you can use the autonomous functions like follow and set RTH.

erik.brossmanfa Posted at 2015-10-12 14:36
No GPS in wifi only models. You need to buy a Bluetooth GPS module like Dual GPS and run it with the ...

It seems you can create a hotspot with your phone and tether the iPad to it which will do the same.  No idea if that costs money or not to do but good to know if it doesn't I suppose.

short answer to YOUR question:
in order to use dynamic home point or follow me mode you need a device with GPS enabled. so ipad air2 with cellular would be recommended. you dont need to have a carrier for the cell portion. all u need is gps!!

rayrokni Posted at 2015-10-13 20:34
short answer to YOUR question:
in order to use dynamic home point or follow me mode you need a devic ...

Thank you, it makes perfect sense that the iPad with cellular will have GPS and thus allows dynamic home point or follow me mode.  With that said, will it still have these features if I tether it to my cell phone which also has GPS?

I'd rather buy the wifi only version which is likely to go on sale for as low as $299 during Black Friday than to pay more for the cellular version knowing I'll never use it for that and will always have my actual cell phone with me.

bugsysiegals Posted at 2015-10-14 10:19
Thank you, it makes perfect sense that the iPad with cellular will have GPS and thus allows dynami ...

i cant tell u from personal experience but i ve heard that tethered to a phone with gps will work. i would ask a member with wifi only ipad to try it out for you, or better still, if you have a friend with one you could try it to be certain

Tethering would only be for data, not GPS.  All of the wifi iPads do NOT have GPS (yes, very dumb!), only the cell versions do.  You can buy a bluetooth GPS for them though if you decide that you really need "follow me" mode.  I don't see myself ever using that (the way it works now), so the wifi version is fine for me.

bugsysiegals Posted at 2015-10-13 21:19
Thank you, it makes perfect sense that the iPad with cellular will have GPS and thus allows dynami ...

Tethering will not give your iPad the GPS from your phone.  If you want GPS with an iPad you need a cellular version or you will have to by a bluetooth GPS.  I have iPhone with hotspot and iPad Mini 2 without GPS so I can tell you for sure it will not get GPS from it.  I now have an Air 2 with cellular with GPS.

The iPad's with wifi only give the illusion you have GPS when connected to your tethered iPhone because it grabs positioning through the wifi (ip addresses  etc) but that is not accurate and if you move away from a spot to an area with no wifi the wifi positioning dies off and no more dot on a map.

Thanks for all your responses.  I believe this answers the question.  Depending on the price difference during Black Friday sales, I'll either spring for the cellular version or buy a separate GPS attachment should I really want to move from the spot I take off from.  Thanks again!