Update: Apple’s Back to School 2026 offer is now available in the United States and Canada. We updated this article with the latest details.
After a slight delay, Apple’s Back to School 2026 offer is now live across most major markets. It first launched in select Asian countries before expanding to the United States and Canada.
The Back to School promo comes weeks after Apple steeply hiked prices of its Mac and iPad lineup due to rising DRAM and NAND costs.
Get up to a $150 gift card with a new MacBook or iPad
Every year, Apple runs a Back to School promotion offering students and teachers freebies with their Mac or iPad purchases. That’s on top of the already discounted education pricing.
In the last few years, the company typically bundled a free Apple Pencil or AirPods with its devices. This time around, Apple is running different promotions in individual countries.
In the United States and Canada, Apple is bundling a gift card worth up to $150 with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad. Buying a MacBook Pro gets you a $150 gift card, while a MacBook Air, iPad Pro and iPad Air will get you a $100 gift card.
You can use this gift card to buy other Apple products or services, including using it to pay for AppleCare+ or App Store subscriptions.
Besides the United States and Canada, Apple is running the Back to School offer in the following countries:
- China
- India
- Malaysia
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Vietnam
The offer is live through August 27, 2026. So, if you are a student or teacher, you have plenty of time to purchase an eligible Apple device and take advantage of the promotion.
In countries like China, Singapore and Vietnam, Apple is bundling a four-pack AirTag (2nd gen) with the purchase of an eligible MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or iPad models.
In India, education customers can select from either a free 4-pack AirTag or AirPods Pro. With the iPad Air or iPad Pro, though, the company is bundling a free Apple Pencil.
In other Asian countries — Malaysia, Philippines and Taiwan — Apple is offering a gift card.
Budget Apple devices are not eligible
Like previous years, budget Apple devices such as the MacBook Neo, iPad mini, iPad (A16), Mac mini and Mac Studio are not eligible for the Back to School offer. iPhones and Apple Watches are also excluded. That’s despite Apple adding the Apple Watch to its education store a few weeks ago.
Rajesh has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade, with a strong focus on iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software updates, hardware changes, and discovering new Mac apps that make work faster and more enjoyable.
You can reach out to him at mail[at]rajeshpandey.me.
