Is it time to upgrade my iPad 4 to something newer?

When driving off-road, I usually work from a Gaia GPS map that I have recorded or drawn from scratch.

I have an iPad 4 mini along with an iPhone 13.

I've noticed the iPad usually produces the same results as the iPhone application except in a few instances where the iPhone arrow moves at a faster speed than the arrow on the iPad.

Since cell service is spotty in my off-road areas, I'm a big user of the off-line map areas in GaiaGPS and OnX. Those work well, and I can see the map locator working in places where I'm bouncing in and out of a cell phone coverage area.

When I originally bought the iPad, I had to register the sim card with AT&T on a basic data plan for the product to work consistently. So my iPad is a Wifi + Cell with an active data plan. I do not use the iPad for pictures. I use my iPhone 13 for pictures.

Occasionally, the iPad will heat up and lock up on a long ride. The battery has a very short life when it is NOT on a charger. I've tried shutting down unnecessary applications, which helps with battery life.

Is the iPad just getting old and needs to up upgraded to a newer unit with possibly better GPS capabilities, longer battery life, more memory, a faster CPU?

The only time I use the iPad is when I'm running off-road map applications, and I need better visibility.

I switched from Android to Apple 2 years ago because it seems Gaia worked better on iOS in those days.

I use several USFS MVUN overlays that come with my GaiaGPS plan.

I'm not opposed to running an Android tabled if there is a better one on the market. Though being able to share data via iCloud to both devices has some advantages.

 

iPad mini 4 is not getting new os updates through. You can get a new iPad mini if you want. FYI, new iPad mini has 5G network. So it will perform maps quicker.

it’s up to you since everyone has own different setups.

 

Id drop the plan and share the plan your cell is on
Still recommend you buy the cellular model iPad, to get the gps chip, just don’t enable the service

 

Share plan is not good idea because hotspot has low limit plans such as 1 gig, 5 gig.

I have unlimited plan on my iPad. Look around and find the best plan that fit your needs.