Did you know?
There’s actually visible indications on your iPad that can help let you know whether or not you’re working with a cellular-capable or Wi-Fi exclusive variant of an iPad! The difference isn’t particularly pronounced, but it’s something that might be neat to note when bird watching iPads around campus.
Here’s the trick:
The iPads that with the full-body design with cellular capabilities have traces on the backside of the device. They can be located along the vertical edges of the device: see the top and bottoms of the devices for the semi-translucent material.
iPad Pro 11″ w/ cellular capabilities: see the traces on the top and bottom. (Apple)
Be careful though!
Some iPads have similar translucent traces regardless of their connectivity options. Devices like the Wi-Fi variant of the M4 iPad Pro have traces at the top of the device, but are missing those same traces at the bottom of the device.
iPad Pro 13″ without cellular capabilities: see missing bottom trace. (Apple)
One surefire way to decide whether or not you’re seeing a cellular device vs. a Wi-Fi one is through additional traces visible on the thin edges of the device, connected to the translucent material:
M4 iPad Pro showcasing vertical line trace to indicate cellular model. (Apple & RAMTech)
Additional Distinctions:
Contrary to the prior statement, a lot of the earlier (or even current) iPad models lack traces at all.
An iPad 10th Generation Wi-Fi model: see no traces visible. (Apple)
Older Models:
Older models are a tad bit different regarding their implementation of the cellular connection. By “older” in this instance, we imply the home-button generation models of the iPad that ended with the iPad 9th Generation, released in 2021. Rather than using semi-translucent traces, these iPads would instead use black-bar plastic covers. Take a look:
iPad 9th Generation w/ Cellular: see black top cover. (Apple)
Why?
Without getting too technical: the traces or cover are made of a plastic material rather than the aluminum and other metals that might otherwise block cellular signals from reaching their access points at the radio frequency they utilize. Why not have those traces for Wi-Fi then? Nine times out of ten, the iPad shell without cellular capabilities will doesn’t show any similar traces. So what’s the deal? Generally speaking, again, it comes down to the radio wave frequency of how each connection type operates. Wi-Fi operates at a higher frequency relative to cellular, and in so being has the ability to traverse the metal, though it doesn’t have quite the same distance capabilities as data. Therefore, no need for those traces in most instances.
That said, more recent iPad Pro models retain a top, non-vertical plastic trace. In independent observation and a bit of document scanning and some Google, it’s not entirely clear why this trace remains or what benefit it provides relative to the other models. For reference: the iPad M2 Air 11″ & 13″ devices lack this trace in their Wi-Fi models despite having the same labeled Wi-Fi specification as the M4 iPad Pro 11″ & 13″ which do contain the trace — and these devices were released on the same day.
The M4 iPad Pro 13″ & M2 iPad Air 13″ side-by-side: see no traces on the Air model despite having similar Wi-Fi specifications.
All of this isn’t terribly useful on the day to day, but it’s one of those small things that’s interesting to pick up on as you see these devices across campus. As an aside, as far as can be told from immediate research, the addition of things like cases onto the unit don’t affect the cellular ability of these devices much unless they’re constructed of something that specifically interferes with radio transmission.
Thanks for giving this post a read, and hope that, if the article was not necessarily helpful, you thought it was an interesting read at the least! If you’re looking to get your hands on either the cellular or regular models, don’t hesitate to check out more information regarding our wares available at RAMTech! At the time of this writing, RAMTech is participating in a Back to School promotion in collaboration with Apple for the summer of 2024, where you can get up to $100 in Apple gift cards with the purchase of an iPad and or other devices. Check it out!
Stay nerdy!
— Ramothée Chalamet