Yup, iPad Air still gets insanely good 24-hours of battery life as Wi-Fi hotspot

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

One of the most remarkable things about the iPad is that its 10 hours of battery life as a tablet translates into 24 hours of battery life a Wi-Fi hotspot. With the screen on doing things, it lasted almost half a day. With the screen off simply feeding data to a tethered computer, it lasts a day with room to spare. Not surprisingly, the iPad Air, which despite being considerably thinner and lighter, enjoys the same 10 hours of tablet battery life, also enjoys the same 24 hours of tethered Wi-Fi hotspot battery life. And lest there be any doubt, Anand Lal Shimpi, has proved it. AnandTech:

A total of 24.08 hours and over 8GB of transfers later, the iPad Air finally died. Just like last time, you'll likely burn through your monthly data allotment before you run out of power.

I've used an iPad as my main LTE hotspot warrior for years now, most recently the iPad mini. It's impossible to beat that form-factor for travel or tethering. I'm currently using the iPad Air and getting the same great results. I'd expect nothing less at this point. I still suffer from occasional, annoying connection glitches over Wi-Fi which require toggling the service or Airplane mode on and off, and sometimes rebooting. USB is bullet-proof, however, and when combined with a 2013 Haswell Retina MacBook Pro, I can close a coffee shop down. I'd argue its the best combo in mobile computing today.

To see the torture tests Anand put his iPad Air through, hit the link below. Then come back and let know how well it's been working for you as a personal hotspot.

Source: AnandTech

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

8 Comments
  • This is the first time I've heard about this. Hot darn, 1 day of hotspot. That's way longer than even some pocket wifi devices can offer. I'm impressed.
  • 10 hours is not enough time. I wish Apple would increase the battery.
  • ?????? Sent from the iMore App
  • You waste web space for a bunch of question marks?
  • that's pretty amazing really, has anyone done the same with the phone to see what kind of life that gets? and 8gb in 24 hours, I wouldnt mind that kind of allowance over 2 months, shame the mobile networks in the Uk are so backwards when it comes to data. We dont want 4000 mins, we want data!
  • It's Apple, any other doubts?? Sent from the iMore App
  • I have used the iPhone as a hot spot, when power was off, and no wifi. I wish I could tell you about battery life, but had the phone plugged into a portable battery source. I also had to watch out on data used. That is the only draw back to the iPhone, or iPad as a hot spot unless you have a great data plan.
  • Uh to me insanely incredible.