Apple Set to Launch Annual 'Back to School' Promotion, iPhone Included for First Time

9to5Mac reports that Apple is likely to launch its annual "Back to School" promotion in the United States and other countries this week, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. The program offers iTunes Store/App Store gift cards to students who purchase a Mac or iPad, and for the first time the program will also include iPhone purchases this year.

The promotion will give eligible students an iTunes/App Store gift card with the purchase of a Mac, iPad, and for the first time, an iPhone. The gift cards that come with Mac purchases will be worth 100$ while the cards accompanying the iOS Devices will be worth $50.

MacRumors had heard over the weekend that Apple retail stores will be performing an "overnight" tonight to adjust signage and other aspects of store layouts. Our source indicated that tonight's changes are likely to be in support of the Back to School promotion, suggesting that it will indeed launch tomorrow.

apple_students_hero
Apple runs the Back to School promotion at different times throughout the year in different countries to correspond to the various educational calendars, but the program launching this week will be the company's largest as it will likely include the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Tag: 9to5Mac

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

Zoboomafoo Avatar
161 months ago
and now we know when the next iphone is announced. The day after this ends...
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Watabou Avatar
161 months ago
Oh yeah! Now, come on Apple, release the damn Haswell rMBP
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KylePowers Avatar
161 months ago
Now if Apple could just release their Haswell rMBPs, Mac Minis, and iMacs already :)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GREEN4U Avatar
161 months ago
Slightly off-topic but here goes:

See the guy in the photo? He's supposed to be a student going "back to school," yet he's using a MacBook Pro. Not a MacBook Air. And that's a good thing for Apple. The MacBook Pro is presumably a higher-margin product but it has universal appeal to consumers, students, and pros. How many non-pros do you see carrying around MacBook Pros? Quite a few I'd guess.

Same thing will happen with the new Mac Pro. It's cool enough that anyone who needs a desktop Mac will want one. Sales numbers will depend on pricing, not on the size of the "pro" market. The lower the price, the more consumers and prosumers will be able to justify buying a Mac Pro instead of an iMac. Not so much with the old-school "box full of components" Mac Pro. It had zero consumer appeal.

Apple has positioned the new Mac Pro as the Mac to have if you need pro-level power and/or you have enough money to buy the best and coolest Mac that Apple sells. Whether or not you're a "pro." (Especially if there will be one or two new Retina Thunderbolt displays for it. 4K 30" Thunderbolt display anybody?)

I'm guessing you don't have a lot of people to talk to.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
efktd Avatar
161 months ago
i miss the days where they gave a free iPod Touch.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hiptobesquare Avatar
161 months ago
Now if Apple could just release their Haswell rMBPs, Mac Minis, and iMacs already :)

I was hoping that they held the BTS offer off until the first day or two of the third quarter, rather than starting it a week or two ago... to co-incide with a Haswell processor spec-bump on the rMBPs, Minis, and iMacs.

Here's hoping that the overnight tonight is a bit bigger than just BTS announcement.

I am preparing for 'back to school' on the school side, rather than the student side... and Haswell coming out in rMBP AFTER the start of the school year will not be ideal, and don't even have information enough to suggest waiting a little bit longer to get it...

Especially for the 800mbps PCIe flash storage, better performance/battery life ratio, and faster wireless internet for the future. I buy top end laptops for as much future-proofing as I can reasonably expect.

C'Mon, Apple... HASWELL THE LINEUP!!!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)