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.
/article-new/2013/07/apple_students_hero.jpg?lossy)
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.
Top Rated Comments
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.
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!!!