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I’m looking at buying an iPad for my mother in law (80+yrs) so she can use FaceTime with family during lockdown. She doesn’t have a smart phone or iPhone- please tell me, can she set up Apple ID and FaceTime with just an email address and what would be most suitable type of iPad to buy for her? Thanks
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Yes she can use an email address. She does not need a phone for FaceTime. It works over WiFi or cellular. If she has WiFi at home and doesn’t need to have her iPad with her when she is out of the house (during nonpandemic times that is), then a WiFi iPad will work just fine. I take my WiFi only iPad many places and am able to use it because so many places offer free WiFi.
Depending on what else she plans on doing with it, my next suggestion would be to buy the iPad with the largest amount of storage that you can afford. You cannot add physical storage to the device like you can on a computer. I bought my son and daughter the iPad Air 4 for Christmas and the screen size is close to 11” which I think works very well for a tablet. The iPad Pros are larger, but they are overkill for what they need.
You can compare the various models for yourself here.
https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/
Yes she can use an email address. She does not need a phone for FaceTime. It works over WiFi or cellular. If she has WiFi at home and doesn’t need to have her iPad with her when she is out of the house (during nonpandemic times that is), then a WiFi iPad will work just fine. I take my WiFi only iPad many places and am able to use it because so many places offer free WiFi.
Depending on what else she plans on doing with it, my next suggestion would be to buy the iPad with the largest amount of storage that you can afford. You cannot add physical storage to the device like you can on a computer. I bought my son and daughter the iPad Air 4 for Christmas and the screen size is close to 11” which I think works very well for a tablet. The iPad Pros are larger, but they are overkill for what they need.
You can compare the various models for yourself here.
https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/
FaceTime can be used with just an AppleID. No cellular connection or cellular phone number is required for FaceTime.
Without an associated iPhone, you will not be able to send or receive SMS/MMS messages (these being Cellular features, requiring access to an iPhone), but will still be able to send and receive messages between Apple devices using the Messages App.
Thank you for the excellent and clear advise
Which iPad should I buy to use FaceTime without a phone number?
