Apple holds a back-to-school promotion each year (now known as the Higher Education Offer to avoid confusion) and offers a free product – usually AirPods – away from buying qualified Apple products.
However, this year it seems that Apple may not offer AirPods. Instead, Apple could offer a gift card. Apple plans to close this year’s deal on Friday, June 24 in the United States.
The education-centric deal is in addition to Apple offering year-round discounts to students and educational institutions on its Macs and iPads. This guide explains what you need to know about getting discounts and using Apple’s Education Store for shopping at the Apple Education Store.
Apple’s Back to Higher Education Agreement is already in place this year (January 6 to March 14, 2022) in Australia and elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, but the education event will begin in the United States in mid-June and then in the United Kingdom and Europe from July. So get ready to take advantage based on that part of the world!
What is Apple’s back-to-school offer in 2022?
- Free Gift Cards – Rumors
- Free AirPods – usually offered for back to school deals
Since it already operates in the Southern Hemisphere, we assume that Apple will provide a pair of AirPods when the Higher Education Agreement begins in the North this summer. However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggested that Apple would offer vouchers instead.
If Apple offers vouchers, it could be a similar agreement to the Apple deal on Black Friday that looks at different voucher values associated with different Apple products. The voucher means that those who are taking advantage of this agreement will have more choice about what they are spending.
Although usually the deal is free AirPods, and it could still be in 2022. Generally all students who purchase a worthy product will receive a pair of 2nd gen AirPods for free, or they will be able to pay a little more to upgrade to the new one. AirPods or AirPods Pro. In addition to the free AirPod educational discounts, Apple also offers higher education to students throughout the year.
To get free AirPods in the past you need to purchase one of the following eligible products:
- Mac: MacBook Air, 13in MacBook Pro, 14in and 16in MacBook Pro, 24in iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, or (probably) Mac Studio.
- iPad: iPad Air, iPad Pro 11in or iPad Pro 12.9in.
There’s a discount on all products sold to students through Apple’s education store, so you’ll already be saving on one of these products.
Also, students can get AppleCare + 20% discount.
How to get Apple’s back to school deal
Unless you live in an area where Apple is running the deal at the time of your purchase, and a student in higher education, or is about to start higher education, you can qualify for Apple’s higher education agreement and get a free pair of AirPods (or vouchers if these Agreement). Below are more details about who the agreement applies to
Keep in mind that if you qualify, you can get a year-round discount by shopping at the Apple Education Store, so you don’t have to shop right now.
Due to the difference in the start of the school year around the world, Apple runs campaigns in different places at different times.
Apple campaigns in the Southern Hemisphere in the first few months of the year. So, if you live in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and South America, you can take advantage of Apple’s agreement between January 6 and March 14, 2022.
The same agreement will be in effect later this year in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Europe. Usually between June and September in North America and between July and October in Europe and the United Kingdom.
In the US you will be able to visit Apple’s US Education Store, but logging in from your university network can make the process much easier.
In the UK you will need to check the status of your students or staff with UNiDAYS as you access its back-to-school offers.
Visit the Apple Education Store for other regions using the links below:
You can request the AirPods you want at checkout when you make your purchase, and you can pay extra if you want to upgrade to Wireless AirPods or AirPods Pro.
Read on to find out the 2022 contract execution dates.
When is Apple’s Back to School Sale 2022?
Apple’s higher education offer usually runs from June to September in the United States and Canada, and from July to October in the United Kingdom.
Sold in Australia, New Zealand and South America between January and March.
Apple Back to School Sale US and Canada Dates
- Mid-June to late September (approx.)
- Friday, June 24, 2022 Rumor
The 2021 deal lasted from June 17 to September 27, so expect the 2022 dates to be the same.
In 2020, Apple started US sales on June 15, with the September 29 deadline, although Apple extended the deadline to October 12, removing it just one day before Amazon’s Prime Day, which took place on 13-14. October 2020. Unfortunately Apple did not extend the 2021 deadline in North America so it is unlikely to happen in 2022.
If you are considering buying from Apple, don’t be discouraged if this year’s deal doesn’t work out: Apple’s educational discounts are available year-round.
Visit the US Education Store and Canada Education Store for more information.
Apple Back to School Sale UK / Europe – Date
- Mid-July – Mid-October 2022 (estimated)
In 2021 Apple’s higher education offer (aka Back to School Sale) launched on 15 July 2021 at the UK Education Store. The sale runs until Monday 11 October.
It is normal for Apple to announce the UK offer in July. In 2020, Apple UK’s back-to-school sales began on 9 July and lasted until 29 October. It also launched its 2019 sale on 9 July and its 2018 sales started on 12 July.
If you’re considering buying from Apple, don’t be discouraged if this year’s deal isn’t running: Apple Education discounts are available all year round. Students and academics need to log in through the UNiDAYS website to view the offers Educational store discounts are usually up to £ 280 for UK students.
Apple Back to School Cell Australia / New Zealand / South America / South Korea
- Runs January 6 – March 14, 2022
Southern Hemisphere dates coincide with the new school year there.
Apple’s back-to-school sales for Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and South Korea began on January 6, 2022 and ended on March 14, 2022.
In 2021 it runs from January 7 and ended on March 16, 2021.
Who can get Apple’s back-to-school deal?
If you are enrolled in a higher education facility (this is post-K12 education, university and college) you will be eligible for free AirPods agreement as well as Apple General Education discount. Employees of these organizations can also qualify. You too can qualify if you are a parent who is shopping for your student children.
Alternatively, if you are an employee of a public or private K-12 institution / school in the United States or Canada, you are also eligible. Apple’s education value is not available for parents with children in school, but a homeschool teacher can qualify.
Even when Apple is not running a back-to-school deal, students and educational institutions can take advantage of its standard educational value on its educational value page (
US here / UK here).
What is Apple’s deal for 2022?
- Free AirPods (2nd Generation) Price $ 129 / £ 119 / A $ 219
Thanks to the agreement, university students, or those who are about to start university or higher education, will get a free 2nd generation AirPod with a new Mac or iPad.
Alternatively you can spend a little more to upgrade your AirPods to 3rd gen AirPods or AirPods Pro. AirPods Max is not included in the offer (see where to buy the highest at the best price).
Students can get:
- A free set of second generation AirPods priced at $ 129 / £ 119 / A $ 219.
- Or, third-generation AirPods priced at $ 169 / £ 179 / A $ 279 if you pay the difference.
- Or, AirPods Pro priced at $ 249 / £ 239 /A $ 399 If you pay extra.
All details and terms can be found on Apple’s site here.
Which iPads are included in Apple’s Back to School agreement?
Not every Apple product you can buy in education stores is included in the free AirPods deal.
For 2022, at least in the Southern Hemisphere, Apple has included the following iPads:
- IPad Air
- iPad Pro 11in
- iPad Pro 12.9in
This is in line with the 2021 agreement, which includes the iPad Pro and iPad Air in Apple’s back-to-school offer. The iPad 8th generation and the iPad mini 5th generation are still excluded from the offer (probably because they are still relatively new).
If you qualify, you can still get discounted educational prices on iPad and iPad mini, you won’t just be able to get free AirPods.
We have a separate guide on where to get the best deals on iPad if you are not eligible for the education price. Read on for advice on which iPad to buy which iPad is best for students.
Which Macs are included in Apple’s Back to School agreement?
If you’re eligible for Apple’s Back to School AirPods, you’ll need to purchase one of the following Macs.
- I’m happy today
- 13 in MacBook Pro
- 14in or 16in MacBook Pro
- 24 in iMac
- Mac Mini
- Mac Pro
- Mac Studio (probably)
You’ll be able to take advantage of the education costs for all those Macs.
If you don’t qualify for the educational discount, check out these roundups of the best deals on a new Mac:
We also have tips on which Mac is best for students.