Again-to-school season is approaching, whether or not you need to admit it or not. For these beginning school this fall, an excellent laptop and noise-canceling headphones are essentially the most wonderful instruments. Fortunately, Apple has a handy sale the place you will get the very best of each worlds, however with out paying full worth.
Additionally: Get 50% off an Amazon Prime membership if you’re age 18-24 – here’s how
Now by way of September 30, Apple is providing a deal simply in time: you will get a free pair of AirPods or any eligible accessory of your selection whenever you buy an iPad, MacBook, or iMac. Certified purchasers are eligible for this provide, which Apple particulars as college students, mother and father of upper training college students, workers of public or personal Ok-12 establishments, college and workers of upper training establishments, serving faculty board members, and choose PTA/PTO executives. Learn the full eligibility terms at Apple.
With this provide, there are fairly a couple of gadgets to choose from which are free with buy. If you happen to select to seize the iPad, you could have the selection of a free Apple Pencil Professional, AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with Energetic Noise Cancellation (further $50 price), AirPods Professional 2 (further $120 price), or a Magic Keyboard suitable with the iPad measurement you selected. The iPad can be simply as nice a selection as a MacBook or iMac, as their new software program updates make them act extra like a desktop.
Additionally: These 6 gadgets are the college essentials you’ll actually reach for
You may as well buy a MacBook and have the choice of AirPods 4 with Energetic Noise Cancellation, AirPods Professional 2 (an additional $70 price), a Magic Mouse, a Magic Trackpad, or a Magic Keyboard with Contact ID totally free. I used a MacBook Air all through school, which was definitely worth the buy.
Lastly, should you select an iMac as your weapon, your freebie might be both AirPods 4 with ANC, or AirPods Professional 2 (further $70 price)
All three choices above can be nice instruments to your tutorial profession. Apple’s desktop and iPad software program has many productiveness choices and runs easily. I keep in mind after I needed to restore my school MacBook Air for the primary time and used an previous HP whereas it was within the store. After these three days, it made me recognize the pace, comfort, and really feel of my MacBook. My youthful sibling is attending school within the fall, and I inspired them to buy one.
Additionally: The iPad I recommend to most users is only $299 right now
I paired my laptop with my second-gen AirPods on the time, which helped me lock in additional throughout library research periods. In any other case, an iPad, particularly with its fashionable software program upgrades, can be helpful for many college students. If you’re in a area of research that requires a lot of drawing, note-taking, and annotating, an iPad makes these issues really feel much less like a chore.
The iMac is the grandfather of all these gadgets. I like to recommend this to these taking extra on-line courses, as it might be robust to lug your desktop to your lecture. Nonetheless, it is nonetheless a strong laptop with a lot of advantages. If you will be bouncing from class to class, one thing moveable just like the iPad or MacBook would higher fit your wants.
Apple’s back-to-school deal, the place you will get a free accessory of your choosing with a tool buy, you may turn into the educational weapon you’ve got all the time wished to be.
On the lookout for the subsequent finest product? Get professional evaluations and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.
How I rated this deal
Apple’s back-to-school offers are usually not a shock to many individuals, as they have been an annual provide for some time. Nonetheless, this deal has a couple of stipulations moreover paying barely further charges for the dearer equipment. You additionally must spend cash on a brand new and dear gadget. Due to this, we gave this provide a 4/5 Editor’s Deal score. A free product is free; if I have been a scholar, mum or dad, or instructor, I might hop on this deal.
This provide from Apple is simply out there throughout a select promotional period. The promotion started on June 17, 2025, and ends on September 30, 2025 within the US.
Nonetheless, offers are topic to promote out or expire anytime, although ZDNET stays dedicated to discovering, sharing, and updating the very best product offers so that you can rating the very best financial savings. Our staff of specialists frequently checks in on the offers we share to make sure they’re nonetheless stay and obtainable. We’re sorry should you’ve missed out on this deal, however do not fret — we’re continuously discovering new probabilities to avoid wasting and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com.
Apple says this provide is offered to certified purchasers inside the promotional timeframe. Apple identifies certified purchasers as college students, mother and father of upper training college students, workers of public or personal Ok-12 establishments, college and workers of upper training establishments, serving faculty board members, and choose PTA/PTO executives. Learn the full eligibility terms at Apple.
This provide is offered at brick-and-mortar Apple Retailer places, the Apple Retailer for Schooling, and at 800-MY-APPLE.
We intention to ship essentially the most correct recommendation that will help you store smarter. ZDNET provides 33 years of expertise, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 sq. toes of lab house to make sure we carry you the very best of tech.
In 2025, we refined our strategy to offers, creating a measurable system for sharing financial savings with readers such as you. Our editor’s deal score badges are affixed to most of our deal content material, making it simple to interpret our experience that will help you make the very best buy determination.
On the core of this strategy is a percentage-off-based system to categorise financial savings provided on top-tech merchandise, mixed with a sliding-scale system primarily based on our staff members’ experience and several other elements like frequency, model or product recognition, and extra. The outcome? Hand-crafted offers chosen particularly for ZDNET readers such as you, absolutely backed by our specialists.
Additionally: How we rate deals at ZDNET in 2025
