Apple's back to school sale starts early and ends late in 2023: here are the best iPad and Mac deals
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Are you looking forward to the start of the next school year? Probably not (at least not in early June), but evidently Apple couldn't wait another second to kick off its traditional back to school sale, doing so (rather discreetly) on the day of the hugely anticipated Vision Pro announcement.
The Cupertino-based tech giant clearly feels it's never too early to be prepared for the first day of class, and what better way to make sure you're ready to take your education to the next level than with a new iPad, iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro?
Unfortunately, school will be back in session far too soon for you to be able to get a discount on the aforementioned Vision Pro headset, which is only scheduled for a commercial release sometime next (calendar) year. And in keeping with tradition, there are no iPhone deals to be had from Apple before September (or, if history is any indication, after September).
When and where is the promotion taking place?
Believe it or not, you have between today (or technically yesterday, June 5) and October 2 to take advantage of Apple's latest back to school offers in the US. You can do so online or offline, in all Apple Store locations, as well as Apple Stores for Education or by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE and following a simple set of instructions.
In addition to students, their parents, faculty, staff, and homeschool teachers of all grade levels are eligible for a free gift card with a select iPad or Mac purchase this summer. As always, some products in those two categories will not qualify for a freebie (in addition to iPhones and AirPods), including the latest iPad mini edition, both the "regular" iPad 9 and iPad 10, as well as the Mac Pro, Mac Studio, and all refurbished devices.
As far as the promotional period goes, it's certainly worth pointing out that this has been substantially expanded from last year, when the sale only ran from June 24 to September 26. That obviously means there's now more time to save, as well as more time to consider alternative deals from other retailers like Amazon's upcoming Prime Day festival.
These are Apple's top iPad back to school 2023 offers
Love them or hate them, you're definitely not looking at any convoluted deals requiring a lot of jumping through hoops here. The 2022-released iPad Air, iPad Pro 11, and iPad Pro 12.9 are on sale at their regular prices with a $100 gift card included for students, parents, and teachers, and that's that.
The gift cards, mind you, will need to be used for separate Apple Store purchases, which arguably makes these promotions weaker than the very similar outright discounts frequently offered by third-party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.
But we know some people prefer to buy the best tablets in the world directly from their manufacturer, and for those people this back to school sale will prove an excellent opportunity to save a little bit of money on a keyboard, stylus, AirPods, Mac, iPhone, or other iPad.
And these are your best Mac deals available today
How does a $150 gift card sound for a $1,249 and up 24-inch iMac desktop? Like peanuts? Alas, that's all you can get at the moment (at least from Apple), and the same goes for your similarly expensive MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
The affordable Mac mini, meanwhile, is only eligible for the same $100 gift card as the iPad Air and iPad Pro (2022), which is... actually not that bad. After all, this little guy starts at a very reasonable $499, and paired with the right budget-friendly display, it can make your homework an absolute piece of cake.
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