Apple Education Store: How Much Can Students Potentially Save on Apple Products When Buying Their Gadgets

Out with the old, in with the new. In days of old, students used to write on pen and paper. Nowadays, apps like GoodNotes or Notability are enabling students to record lecture audio and retain their written documents on all of their devices.

Many students will consider buying gadgets in preparation of a new academic journey. In fact, it’s almost impossible to get any work done without having a laptop, or tablet to access the Internet – especially for university students.

If you are in the market for new Apple devices, consider checking out the Apple Education Store for some student savings.

Read also: 5 Ways To Improve Your Work-From-Home (WFH) Experience Without Overspending

Buying an Apple MacBook Air vs. Other Laptops

One of the most important gadgets that you likely need is a laptop. Many institutions (Polytechnics/Universities) in Singapore have now implemented web based learning (e-learning) as one of their primary means of educating students.

A laptop and/or a tablet will be great for accessing educational information provided by these institutions. Being able to study anywhere and everywhere sure is a bonus

Nowadays, a lower-end laptop will cost you about $700 to $800 while a middle to higher-end option with better performance specs will cost anywhere between $2,000 to $4000

With the current education pricing on the Apple Education store, a 13-inch M2 Apple MacBook Air with 8GB memory and 256GB SSD storage costs $1,549 (U.P. $1,699) – a $150 difference for an Apple product. If you opt for a 12-month installment plan, you will pay about $108.25 per month or about $3.60 per day.

This is comparable to other laptops with similar specs in the market. While getting a Mac is not the cheapest option, it is worth considering if you are an existing iPhone user and have gotten used to the iOS operating system

Brand	Apple	Dell	Microsoft	HP
Model	M2 MacBook Air	XPS 13	Surface Laptop 4	HP Envy 13
Size	13”	13”	13.5”	13.3”
Memory	8GB	8GB	8GB	16Gb
Storage	256GB	256GB	256GB	256GB
Limited Warranty	1 Year	2 Year	1 Year	1 Year
Price	$1,549	$1,349	$1,599	$1699

 

Read Also: Spotify VS Apple Music VS YouTube Music VS Tidal: Which Music Streaming Service Is Worth Paying For?

Buying an Apple iPad vs. Other Tablets

Tablets these days are almost as powerful as their laptop counter parts, with a slight tweak to their operating system. If you mainly utilise simple apps such as Microsoft Word and prefer a writing tool to pen down your thoughts, a tablet will be perfect.

An iPad Air with 64GB (M1 Chip) currently costs $809 (U.P. $879), which means that you save $70 by buying from Apple Education Store. You’ll also have further savings on the Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil too.

While an Apple iPad is not the cheapest option as compared to other brands of tablets, it is worth considering if you prefer Apple products for their security and useability. Best of all, you can personalize your iPad by adding engravings (such as text, emojis, and numbers) of your choice! This makes it easier to identify your gadgets when you are in lecture halls.

Brand	Apple	Samsung	Microsoft	Xiaomi
Model	iPad Air	Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra	Surface Go 3	Pad 5
Screen	10.9”	11”	10.5”	11”
Storage	64GB	128Gb	128GB	128GB
Warranty	1 Year	1 Year	1 Year	1 Year
Price	$809	$1038	$599	$724.61

 

Buying an Apple iMac vs. Other Desktops

With home-based learning, and working from home the status quo for many institutions, a desktop might be just the thing for you. Having more power in a larger chassis, a desktop could be a better bang-for-buck alternative.

An iMac is a considered as an “All-in-One” (AIO) system as the CPU and the rest of the parts of a computer is housed within one chassis. Therefore, we will be matching it with other AIO PCs.

A 24-inch iMac with 256GB storage costs $1,779 (U.P. $1,849), or $148.25 if you opt for the 12-month instalment plan. In this case, you can save $70 with education pricing.

While an iMac is considered to be a higher-end option for desktops, it is suitable for students who are taking courses related to graphic design, motion graphics and media production. Especially if you’re using native apps like Final Cut Pro which is tuned specifically for the Mac.

Brand	Apple	Dell	Microsoft	HP
Model	iMac	Inspiron 24 All-in-One	Surface Studio 2	HP EliteOne 840 G9 All-in-One Desktop PC
Size	24”	23.8”	28”	23.8”
Memory	8GB	8GB	16GB	8GB
Storage	256GB	512GB	1TB	256GB
Delivery	1-2 weeks	4 – 7 business days	4 – 7 business days	3-7 business days
Warranty	1 Year	1 Year	1 Year	1 Year
Price	$1,779	$1,198.99	$6688	$1802

 

Things to Know Before You Purchase A Gadget from Apple Education Store

After you have decided on which gadget to buy, it is important to check on the eligibility terms prior to purchase.

The education pricing is only available students and educators for tertiary institutions (Polytechnic, University, Educators). So, do remember to bring along your student/allied educator ID for verification.

Do note that the promotion product (i.e. AirPods) is only applicable to the purchase of selected Apple products, such as MacBook, iMac, and iPad. Each customer can only claim the promotion product once. This means that you will only receive one complimentary pair of AirPods even if you have bought multiple gadgets.

All purchases are inclusive of a one-year warranty, and you can extend your AppleCare+ at 20% off with education pricing. Top up $223 for MacBook, $215 for iMac, $79 for iPad respectively to extend your AppleCare+ for up to 3 years.

To maximise your savings, you can consider using a student cashback credit card or supplementary card to finance your gadget purchase. A cashback return of 1.5% allows you to earn a rebate of $23.23 if you buy a MacBook Air and $26.68 if you buy an iMac. You can compare the differences between a student credit card and a supplementary card before deciding on the card that best suits your lifestyle.

It is important to assess the need for a new gadget before you make a purchase, regardless of any promotion. If getting a new gadget is necessary to prepare you for an effective learning experience at the university, then you can make good use of the current back-to-school promotion on Apple Education Store.

Read Also: 5 Factors To Consider If You Are Buying A Laptop For Your Child’s Home-Based Learning (HBL)

This article was originally published on 4 August 2021 and updated with new information. Additional reporting by Brent Wong

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