Apple has an annual back-to-school promotion, and this year’s has just started. But unlike previous years, this time eligible buyers such as educators and students won’t be offered gift cards which can be redeemed for services and app downloads, for instance. Instead, they’ll be able to choose from a range of accessories for free.
Apple AirPods 4 — an accessory offered free with the right back-to-school purchase.
If you’re buying an iPad, for instance, you can snag a free Apple Pencil Pro worth $119. While every new iPad is now compatible with one of the company’s various smart styluses, only the iPad Pro, iPad Air and iPad mini are compatible with the Pencil Pro so, as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has pointed out, this offer “could encourage someone to buy something higher-end rather than a regular iPad,” as he described it.
If you’re not tempted by the Pencil Pro, choosing an iPad Air or iPad Pro will mean you can claim either a free pair of AirPods 4 (usually $129), or get $50 off AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, for instance — they normally cost $179.
If you’re in the market for an iMac, you can choose AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation for free (saving you $179), or pay $70 to get the AirPods Pro 2 which regularly cost $249 and which therefore also saves you $179.
Finally, if you buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, you can pick up the AirPods Pro 4 with Active Noise Cancellation free, or AirPods Pro 2 if you pay $70 — the same as with an iMac.
But the laptop also has three other free accessories to choose from: a Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, with the free accessories valued between $99 and $199. While an external keyboard, trackpad or mouse isn’t seen as essential by many laptop buyers, there’s a reason for this offer. “The MacBook, not iMac, is the device that gives you a free trackpad, mouse or keyboard. That’s curious since many laptop users don’t need those accessories. But it could set them up to eventually buy another Mac — an iMac, Mac Studio or Mac mini, for instance — in the future,” as Mark Gurman explains.
The promotion is on now and runs to Sept. 30, 2025, available in Apple Stores and online at apple.com. Qualified purchasers are faculty, staff, students and parents of students buying on their behalf — full terms and conditions are here.
