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

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
General Spotify Feature

Spotify Preparing to Launch Long-Awaited Lossless Audio Tier on iPhone

Thursday June 19, 2025 1:46 pm PDT by
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier. Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player. With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
Craig Federighi No

John Gruber Reacts to Apple Declining His Interview After His Criticism

Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...

Top Rated Comments

Zoboomafoo Avatar
156 months ago
and now we know when the next iphone is announced. The day after this ends...
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Watabou Avatar
156 months ago
Oh yeah! Now, come on Apple, release the damn Haswell rMBP
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KylePowers Avatar
156 months ago
Now if Apple could just release their Haswell rMBPs, Mac Minis, and iMacs already :)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GREEN4U Avatar
156 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
156 months ago
i miss the days where they gave a free iPod Touch.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hiptobesquare Avatar
156 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)