Apple Launches 2015 Back to School Promotion, Offers Free Beats Solo2 Headphones With Mac Purchase

Thursday July 23, 2015 7:26 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today launched its annual Back to School promotion, offering a free pair of Beats Solo2 On-Ear headphones to qualifying students, parents of students and educators that purchase an eligible Mac, including the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro. As usual, the Mac mini and refurbished Macs are excluded from the deal. iPhones and iPads are also absent from this year's promotion.

beatssolo2
Apple will apply an instant credit in the amount of $199.95 to cover the full cost of the Beats Solo 2 On-Ear headphones in gloss black, white, red, blue, gray or pink. Apple is also offering the option to upgrade to Beats Solo2 Wireless On-Ear Headphones in space gray, silver or gold for $100 extra, which is the remaining balance after the $199.95 credit is applied.

Apple's Back to School promotion offered up to a $100 Apple Store gift card with the purchase of a qualifying Mac, iPhone or iPad in past years, including the 2014 and 2013 promotions, but the iPhone and iPad are not included in this year's deal. Apple has outlined the full eligibility requirements for the program in its terms and conditions for the United States [PDF] and Canada [PDF] on its website.

Apple has traditionally launched its Back to School program during June or early July, with the second Tuesday of July being the target date for several years in a row, but this year's launch has come later in the month than expected. Apple has also moved away from offering free Apple Store or iTunes gift cards for the first time since offering a free iPod touch with a qualifying Mac in 2010 and prior.

Apple's Back to School promotion runs from today through September 18, 2015 at Apple Retail Stores, and between August 6, 2015 and September 18, 2015 on the Apple Online Store, in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Apple has not yet officially announced the promotion in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark or several other European countries that have offered the deal in previous years.

Juli Clover contributed to this report.

Update 9:30 AM Pacific: Apfelpage.de and iFun.de report that the same promotion will be offered in Germany starting August 6.

Tags: Beats Electronics, Back to School promotion
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campingsk8er
60 months ago
Guys, its something that is free. Just because they have done something in the past doesn't mean they have to continue doing it now. Just be happy you are getting something, geez.
Rating: 53 Votes
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GizmoDVD
60 months ago
So free crappy headphones?

Remember when we got gift cards? Or iPod Touches?
Rating: 50 Votes
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groovyd
60 months ago
There was a recent review of these headphones by a prominent HeadFi reviewer (audiophile type geek) and the review was very favorable. Apparently the sound is actually quite good with this model.

[MEDIA=youtube]PcpIba9SSjE[/MEDIA]

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/time-rethink-beats-solo2-excellent

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/time-rethink-beats-solo2-excellent-measurements-page-2
Rating: 33 Votes
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neuropsychguy
60 months ago
These are not "crappy" headphones, they just don't perform as well relative to their cost as some rival headphones. There are professional reviewers who argue that they sound quite good (and are a huge improvement over the Solo HDs). It's hard to complain when they are "free". Maybe this bundle is not as good (in the opinion of some) as the past iPod or gift card deals but it is a great bundle from a marketing perspective and a great bundle for many students.
Rating: 25 Votes
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macsrcool1234
60 months ago
Gross. At least I can eBay them for money.
Rating: 23 Votes
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vmachiel
60 months ago
Man.. I miss the iTunes credit already.
Rating: 21 Votes
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hybroid
60 months ago
Absolutely brilliant marketing this to get youth hooked on the brand.
Rating: 19 Votes
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cere
60 months ago

Guys, its something that is free. Just because they have done something in the past doesn't mean they have to continue doing it now. Just be happy you are getting something, geez.

Sure, it's "free" with purchase. That doesn't mean it's anything to be happy about. They could have given out free onions or bedazzled socks, but that doesn't mean anyone should be happy about it.

It's supposed to a promotion, as in something to stir interest in a purchase. It fails in that regard for a lot of people.
Rating: 18 Votes
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2457282
60 months ago

I can see it now. College campuses covered with people wearing beats headphones. Count on it.

Agreed, a lot of people with their noses up in the air on this site seem to hate beats. Yet kids everywhere have them. Since this is a back to school promotion and the target audience is kids (including university kids), then this makes total sense.

Too much hating this morning.
Rating: 15 Votes
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steve23094
60 months ago
From Apple's point of view, very clever. What's the build cost of these, $10? From customer's point of view, 'Great, Apple are giving me a crappy pair of headphones I don't want'.

At least gift cards are flexible in what you can choose to purchase.
Rating: 14 Votes

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