AppleInsider Staff
Apple on Wednesday added the flagship iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display to the company's long-running education discount program, the first time Apple has included the tablets in its less costly options for students and teachers.
The base model iPad Air has been discounted by $30 to $469 while the equivalent iPad mini received a $20 cut to $379. The changes were first noticed by French site iGeneration.
Wednesday's change marks the first time the iPad has received a straight price cut as part of the education program. Previously, the tablets were included in Apple's annual 'Back to School' promotion and came with a $50 gift card, but were not given further discounts.
Apple has renewed its focus on the education market in recent years, with the iPad, the Mac, iBooks textbooks, and iTunes U all contributing to the more than $1 billion Apple earns each year from education. The iPad is particularly strong, having captured 94 percent of tablet marketshare in schools.
"It's sort of unheard of," Cook said of the iPad's education dominance during a corporate earnings call last year. "I've never seen a market share that high before. So we feel like we're doing really well here, and feel great to be making a contribution to education."
Malcolm Owen
Wesley Hilliard
Marko Zivkovic
Christine McKee
5 Comments
This is pretty important. It shows that Apple is beginning to consider the iPad on the same level as their computers.
Education buys from June-Aug....summer time clearing the shelves. Start with a lower price, later bundle with free stuff (excess inventory of iPods, printers, etc.).
And/or Apple wants to keep the surface 3 out of schools. It may replace a MBair, but some parents may want to buy them because they think they know microsoft better than can learn iOS. Dropping the price shows these prospective buyers the threshhold is lower (and we all know there are only 2 reason to buy a MS Win system... you know Windows and don't want to learn anything else, or you want a cheap system that has some level of support.
They have also extended the discount to government employees.
On the educational website for schools, there aren't any discounts listed. Maybe this is only for students and staff, and not institutions? The iPad Retina is still $499, iPad Mini is $299 still , and the iPad Mini Retina is $399 still. Maybe they haven't updated the site yet?
EDIT:
If you buy the 10-pack with or without AppleCare+ it is discounted to $479/iPad
This is a great thing and they're doing it at the perfect time. This is when schools (mine included) are planning purchases for the next school year. With more and more schools doing this 1-to-1 initiative, this will make the iPad even more appealing. Its not always a no-brainer like some think. There are plenty of schools using Android tablets because they're "cheaper". I have yet to see or hear about schools using Windows tablets in mass quantities. Mostly just buy one or two to try.
Hope they keep that, I am going to need a new mini at some point...