Every year, Apple has a ‘Back to School’ promo for students – offering some kind of special incentive if they buy a Mac or iPad during the promotional window. Typically, this has come in the form of free accessories (like AirPods), or a $100-150 Apple gift card. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the offer should be returning later this week.
Usually, this deal would’ve kicked off by now – but then Apple had to increase its prices dramatically due to the memory shortage, and it likely caused the company to take a pause for launching this offer.
It looks like the offer should finally debut sometime this week though, since Apple is reportedly putting up materials in retail stores ‘during the middle of this coming week,’ per Gurman.
Apple retail stores are putting up Back to School promotional materials during the middle of this coming week. Stores will be re-organized, including a dedicated education table that has Macs, iPads and iPad Pros. https://t.co/GCFg8WWMp8 — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) July 12, 2026
It’s unclear if this years offer will offer higher incentives than usual. Apple might want to sweeten the deal to help students stomach the fact that Macs and iPads are now much more expensive than what they used to be.
It’s also worth noting that the company recently added UNiDAYs verification to the education store in the US, so it’s no longer possible to participate in these deals unless you’re a verified student.
Only time will tell what Apple has in store. Hopefully it’s good enough to compel students despite the much higher prices.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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