Why are cellular tablets double the price of WiFi?

[Rmay635703]

Something I’ve never understood is why cellular enabled tablets are almost always a massive amount of money more (-$150+ unless it’s an outdated or extremely low end model). I’ve heard of external usbc cell modems but driver wise they almost always only work on a pc.

The chipsets inside that handle WiFi or WiFi +cellular are nearly identical and usually a <$20 part regardless of cellular capability or not. (5g Cell modems are an extremely cheap part and usually in the same family as the WiFi only part)

Always found this irritating since all tablets should at this point have cell considering it only adds $5 to the modern (or less) and sims can always be sold/provided by the service.

I might have understood this logic in 2005 but it’s extraordinarily baffling in 2025 that we still treat cell modems with 1990’s prices

 

[Vil_Riker]

Why not charge if they can get away with it?

 

[rijndael]

Not only is the cell phone chip around $30-50, there's license fees to the chip mfr.


2020 prices:
https://www.phonearena.com/news/qualcomms-price-war-could-harm-mediatek_id121536

Qualcomm has reportedly cut the price of the 5G Snapdragon 765 chipset (SD7250) by $25-$30 to $40. MediaTek's Dimensity 1000 5G chipset costs the company $45-$50 to make and it sells for $60-$70 per chip. As a comparison, Qualcomm's top-of-the-line Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform with the Snapdragon X55 5G modem costs $120-$130 and has not had its price cut. The company's flagship chip outperforms the MediaTek Dimensity 1000 and Qualcomm sees no need to drop the price of its high-end chipset.

 

[Rmay635703]

Not only is the cell phone chip around $30-50, there's license fees to the chip mfr.

I have a $30 mini project board that includes WiFi+cellular, so nah bro it really isn’t, 2011 maybe but 2025 it’s a throw away chip.

 

[CarlB]

Not only is the cell phone chip around $30-50, there's license fees to the chip mfr.


2020 prices:
https://www.phonearena.com/news/qualcomms-price-war-could-harm-mediatek_id121536

Yep. Plus they build less of the cellular models, so need a higher margin per unit.

 

[rijndael]

I have a $30 mini project board that includes WiFi+cellular, so nah bro it really isn’t, 2011 maybe but 2025 it’s a throw away chip.

4G chips are cheaper than 5G.

I quoted 5G 2020 prices from the link.

 

[Cujet]

Also the Apple Cellular versions have internal GPS and GNSS, plus the 3 different antennas for each.

 

[Rand]

Those are full Processor prices though.. with modem.

just a modem added to a tablet should be cheaper?

I know on samsung watches the LTE costs about 50$ extra.. but no extra at trade in

I do sorta enjoy my "D-ICK Tracy" watch if I leave the phone in the car for example... can still get texts/calls

 

[Klutch9]

I think they really should be similar in price, since it would incentivize you to possibly add a cell plan because you already have the radio built in. You’d think the cell carriers would fund that part for their own potential benefit. They ‘give away’ phones like candy anyhow. I’d really like a cheap data plan for my iPad, but it doesn’t matter anyway. I have the wifi only model, because the cell model cost a lot more.

 

[PandaBear]

I used to work as a modem firmware engineer in a cell phone company using Qualcomm chipset. The modem is not $5, more like $27 just the chip alone back then in massive quantity (think million). After the chip you have to add a lot of other components, R&D cost, manufacturing, and the volume you sell for is lower than the wifi only model.

I would say in the end it cost $50 extra for the manufacturer to do a good job and then $50 on top for profit / economy of scale loss, so $100 extra, seems typical.

 

[PandaBear]

I think they really should be similar in price, since it would incentivize you to possibly add a cell plan because you already have the radio built in. You’d think the cell carriers would fund that part for their own potential benefit. They ‘give away’ phones like candy anyhow. I’d really like a cheap data plan for my iPad, but it doesn’t matter anyway. I have the wifi only model, because the cell model cost a lot more.

They haven't given away too many lately. Many people who buy the cellular one doesn't sign up for a plan, let alone an overpriced plan with contract, all the time. I tend to just get an eSim when I travel for a few days then let it expire, and use it with wifi at home.

 

[spackard]

The primary consumer are pilots. I dunno, maybe they mark it up 43% so when airlines demand a 30% discount they sell it for the price they wanted in the first place.

Here's how to solve this problem:

1. Calculate the original price:

• If a $1000 sale price represents 70% of the original price (100% - 30% discount), we can set up the following equation:
  • Original Price * 0.70 = $1000
  • Original Price = $1000 / 0.70
  • Original Price = $1428.57 (approximately)

2. Calculate the markup amount:

• Markup Amount = Original Price - Sale Price
  • Markup Amount = $1428.57 - $1000
  • Markup Amount = $428.57

3. Calculate the markup percentage:

• Markup Percentage = (Markup Amount / Original sales price ) * 100
  • Markup Percentage = ($428.57 / $1000) * 100
  • Markup Percentage = 42.86% (approximately)

Therefore, you would have to mark up the cost by approximately 42.86%

 

[Rmay635703]

What got me on this was at a vendor I priced a WiFi Apple mini
$399 for the latest, same service
Cellular was $649, that is what called egregious

Yep. Plus they build less of the cellular models, so need a higher margin per unit.

The family of chips I looked at came as single chip regardless of whether it was WiFi only
Or cell, Bluetooth, WiFi
Or cell, ascellometer , gps, Bluetooth, WiFi

Everything was SOC, not separate components.

Also I have owned WiFi only devices in the past that had gps for some reason.

I would think ignoring the obsolete WiFi market and only producing WiFi+ cell would allow for standardization across a line and reduce cost all around since the cost to offer a bespoke device usually exceeds the cost of the cell modem by far. Also would be a gift to cell providers since some folks would grab service or pay as you go sims here and there.

They haven't given away too many lately. Many people who buy the cellular one doesn't sign up for a plan, let alone an overpriced plan with contract, all the time. I tend to just get an eSim when I travel for a few days then let it expire, and use it with wifi at home.

I honestly would love to see the economics of what is the cheapest way to get a cell plan with a tablet alacarte

T-mobile gave you the device basically for free when you buy the overpriced $25/month plan but then after 2 years you could pay off the balance and the cell plan went 100% to the price of the mini.

I’ve been trying to find a way to make a tablet with cell and no phone work but the economics always suck

 

[PandaBear]

What got me on this was at a vendor I priced a WiFi Apple mini
$399 for the latest, same service
Cellular was $649, that is what called egregious



The family of chips I looked at came as single chip regardless of whether it was WiFi only
Or cell, Bluetooth, WiFi
Or cell, ascellometer , gps, Bluetooth, WiFi

Everything was SOC, not separate components.

Also I have owned WiFi only devices in the past that had gps for some reason.

I would think ignoring the obsolete WiFi market and only producing WiFi+ cell would allow for standardization across a line and reduce cost all around since the cost to offer a bespoke device usually exceeds the cost of the cell modem by far. Also would be a gift to cell providers since some folks would grab service or pay as you go sims here and there.



I honestly would love to see the economics of what is the cheapest way to get a cell plan with a tablet alacarte

T-mobile gave you the device basically for free when you buy the overpriced $25/month plan but then after 2 years you could pay off the balance and the cell plan went 100% to the price of the mini.

I’ve been trying to find a way to make a tablet with cell and no phone work but the economics always suck

First off: just because it is soc doesn't mean it cost the same. Cost is mostly a function of probability of finding defects in chips, so surface area would significantly increase cost because a tiny defect will fail a small chip that cost less than a big chip, and the chances of defect increase as surface area increase (so you multiply them, and therefore the cost increase by square of surface area times some other factors).

Second: R&D cost is divided over how many unit you sell. If you R&D the cellular model and only sell 20% of the total volume, the same R&D dollar would be 5x in cellular model vs the wifi R&D dollar because you have 5x the volume in economy of scale.

Third: There are a lot of patent licensing cost for features to other companies. If you have a cellular modem you likely have to pay Qualcomm / Huawei / Samsung / Nokia etc even if you are not using Qualcomm chip. If you sell it and the customer don't use it you still have to pay these guys. Not sure if it is still like this but Qualcomm used to charge patent licensing based on the total device price rather than just the chip price. So they charge more on a $1k phone than a $500 phone even if they are using the same cellular chip.

No, it is not a near free feature they can give to you for free. You can say it is only worth $50 in chips, $50 in licensing, and maybe $150 including chips and R&D, and they are overpriced by $100, but no it is not just free to use.

The cheapest would likely be paying as you go with your cell phone plan tethering as a hot spot, or in a foreign country get an old phone and a travel eSim with a good plan. How much data are you planning to use?

 

[Rmay635703]

It isn’t for me, my moms $29.99 5g cell that we put Trac phone service on is a fairly good size for a cell but she can’t read a lot of things on it very well.

She likes to constantly be playing videos and news but because of limited data to control cost she just runs it out until she is home on WiFi.

She also seems to be unable to use or understand Android unlike her now broken antique iPhone mini 2 cellular model which is far too old to be stable on much of the current modern web but she was actually able to access and use most of the features.

 

[PandaBear]

It isn’t for me, my moms $29.99 5g cell that we put Trac phone service on is a fairly good size for a cell but she can’t read a lot of things on it very well.

She likes to constantly be playing videos and news but because of limited data to control cost she just runs it out until she is home on WiFi.

She also seems to be unable to use or understand Android unlike her now broken antique iPhone mini 2 cellular model which is far too old to be stable on much of the current modern web but she was actually able to access and use most of the features.

My suggestion is to get a used cellular ipad so you are getting it for the "fair" market price without gouging.

 

[alarmguy]

Cellular is an option. All companies make large markups on options of any kind.
Another example is you can buy more built in memory for only $2

 

[Rmay635703]

My suggestion is to get a used cellular ipad so you are getting it for the "fair" market price without gouging.

The issue with that is one of support.

The older gen mini was further behind even when it was brand new and now it’s likely going to get dropped for support in a moderately short period of time.

My moms crappy moto android despite still being manufactured is basically an antique with 5g still being produced, it’s honestly amazing that anything works on it but it can be very unstable/ crash ridden because it is so underpowered for being a “new” phone. The included apps to track minutes and account stuff don’t even work correctly anymore and she quickly ran out of space for photos.

Honestly that phone was meant to just make phone calls and it automatically handles VOIP but considering my mom seems incapable of using as a phone outside her house the landline and VOIP would substitute. Then we could eliminate the annual cost for the phone.

I am told I should be able to get $10 tablet plans but it always seems to be bait and switch usually requiring another device with a plan.

 

[PandaBear]

The issue with that is one of support.

The older gen mini was further behind even when it was brand new and now it’s likely going to get dropped for support in a moderately short period of time.

My moms crappy moto android despite still being manufactured is basically an antique with 5g still being produced, it’s honestly amazing that anything works on it but it can be very unstable/ crash ridden because it is so underpowered for being a “new” phone. The included apps to track minutes and account stuff don’t even work correctly anymore and she quickly ran out of space for photos.

Honestly that phone was meant to just make phone calls and it automatically handles VOIP but considering my mom seems incapable of using as a phone outside her house the landline and VOIP would substitute. Then we could eliminate the annual cost for the phone.

I am told I should be able to get $10 tablet plans but it always seems to be bait and switch usually requiring another device with a plan.

I can assure you that $10 tablet plan is likely going to cut your video streaming off real quickly. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't, you have to read the fine print.

Regarding to iPad vs android pad, yes that is the main reason I mostly stay with Apple. Apple product when old tends to still work vs Android with forced update tend to slow to a crawl. I am currently still using an iPad Air 2 that's probably 7 years old now and the only problem I have is the storage size of 16GB got eaten up by the OS. Nothing is left other than Netflix and YouTube app and it barely hold up in storage. Video still plays fine so the kids are fine with it.

Get a used iPad cellular that has 5G support would be my suggestion. If money is tight get an LTE one would be ok too. Something 2-3 years old max, and upgrade as you need to or when the carrier retire the older network. I usually get my used phone and pad from swappa.

 

[zzyzzx]

The upcharge for wireless charging seems excessive as well.