If you’re an Apple fan, it probably doesn’t need to be said, but good Apple deals are hard to come by. People are simply willing to pay regular price for the quality products. There’s no reason to dole out deals again and again throughout the year, and when we do find deals it is common for many of them to be refurbished Apple deals, not new products. Nonetheless, Apple deals do exist. And, right now, for the back to school season, we’re finding generous offers on trendy items you and your kids will both enjoy. Here are the best back to school Apple deals across a variety of their offerings.
Apple AirPods 2 — $89, was $129
Here are the AirPods Gen 2 with the traditional lighting case. By now, if you’re in the Apple ecosystem, you probably don’t need to check our Apple AirPods 2 review to know of their capabilities, excellence with iPhones, and overall notoriety. Just remember that now we’re in the era of USB-C and a wireless charging case, so getting this version is (as hard as it is to admit) going to give someone some old school cool cred around the schoolyard, campus, or office. This is a great price for what has historically been considered the best wireless earbuds.
Apple AirPods Max — $450, was $550
The Apple AirPods Max are Apple’s take on over the ear headphones. Popular for Apple users, they are considered to be some of the best headphones for their quality ANC and, of course, their ability to pair to an iPhone well. As detailed in our Apple AirPods Max review, these headphone do have a peculiar feature, or rather the lack of a very common feature — a power button. Why? They don’t really need one. Our reviewer, and you really should check out the review yourself for all of the details, found that the headphones’ power had drained by a mere 7% after being left alone for 11 hours and the drainage gets even slower over time. Finally, since we know you’re going to be using these with your iPhone and iPad, you should note that the AirPods Max are excellent at taking voice and video calls, giving great clarity to your voice.
Apple iPad 10 A14 (64GB, Wi-Fi) — $300, was $349
The Apple iPad 10 is the 10th generation of the base-tier iPad. This version comes with 64GB of storage and a fast, reliable Wi-Fi 6 connection capability. When combined with the Apple Pencil and/or the Magic Keyboard Folio, the Apple iPad 10 transforms into an ultra portable, multimodal device, almost like a 2-in-1 laptop. Add this to the built-in 12MP cameras that are capable of shooting 4K video and the all day battery life, and you have a machine that you can through in your bag and get through classes and work with.
Apple iPad Air 5 M1 (256GB, Wi-Fi) — $500, was $750
This is not our top pick among the best tablets for college. It’s actually better than our top pick. The Apple iPad Air 5 with the M1 chip was, indeed, our top pick, but this version has 256GB over the 64GB we decided to recommend at that time, largely due to budgeting considerations. It has a delightful Liquid Retina display that displays in 2360 x 1640p and the M1 chip is, despite being in a model a couple of years old, still very powerful for the needs of a typical notetaking student. In fact, in our Apple iPad Air 5 review, our reviewer mentions using it as a laptop alternative. This is the iPad deal to pick up if you’re college bound.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M1) — $649, was $699
While the MacBook Air M2 and MacBook Air M3 are both featured in our collection of the best MacBooks to buy in 2024, Apple’s MacBook Air M1 edition has something neither of them have right now — a price under the $700 line. Right now, as part of Walmart deals, you can get the “lower powered” MacBook for a competitive price that is definitely targeting students that want a reliable laptop but can’t afford something expensive. And even though it is less powerful than the other versions, this laptop is still plenty powerful at 8GB of RAM, an 18 hour battery life, and it has 256GB of storage in addition to whatever cloud storage you’ll inevitably use. While you’ll need to keep in mind that it was written in 2020, our MacBook Air M1 review should give you a good idea if the machine will be right for your next semester.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) — $999, was $1,099
The MacBook Air M3 is the powerful one, capable of running a lot more software and, as you can see from Baldur’s Gate being played in the image above, it is even capable of gaming. As a MacBook. This version of the M3 has an 18 hour battery life, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, but you should look beyond the numbers and check out our Apple MacBook Air M3 review for more information on the notebook computer. One salient point from that review, and one that cuts through the numbers to deliver a better perspective, is that the MacBook Air M3 outperforms the RTX 4050 wielding XPS 14 laptop.
Apple Watch SE 2 (GPS, 40mm, S/M) — $189, was $249
If you’re wanting to watch your steps around campus, keep off the legendary freshman fifteen, and not miss the bell quiz due to losing track of time, why not take care of it all in the same place with one of the more affordable Apple Watch deals going on at the moment? This smartwatch has a two-day battery life, no fuss fitness tracking system, and dazzlingly beautiful faces to display on its 40mm screen. Our Apple Watch SE 2 review quickly gave the watch three defining adjectives — simple, cheap, brilliant — that still hold up today. This is an excellent introduction to fitness tracking devices.
Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS, 45mm, M/L) — $329, was $429
For a more advanced Apple Watch, check out the leader of the best smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 9. This is a feature-filled smartwatch with a wide range of health, safety, and workout features. Take an ECG at any time, track your sleep quality, track your menstrual cycle, use the workout app for exercise tracking at any time and any place, and get emergency services fast with features like crash detection. Our Apple Watch Series 9 review highlights its fast-moving (and quite smooth) interface, right alongside the unique “double-tap” method of interacting with the watch via tapping the fingers connected to the wrist the watch is on. And, since this is a battle of simple versus advanced, be sure to check out our comparison guide to the Apple Watch Series 9 vs Apple Watch Se 2 to get all of the facts before you make a decision.
