Apple's Back to School promo with free gift cards and AirPods is live in two new countries

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple has now launched its annual Back to School promotion in Canada and Mexico, giving students a chance to get their hands on Apple gear with freebies thrown in for good measure.

The new promotion runs through October 2 and is available to students at college or university, with different offers available depending on what product is bought. The free offerings also differ depending on the country that you happen to be in as well.

For example, while Canadians will get a free gift card worth up to $200 when they buy selected Macs, anyone doing so in Mexico will get a free pair of third-gen AirPods instead.

Freebies for all

The expansion of Apple's Back to School promotion was spotted by MacRumors and makes this a great time to buy if you must do it from Apple. You'll of course also benefit from Apple's educational discount, but there might be better deals to be had by checking out the Prime Day Apple deals instead. Keep that in mind when factoring in whether the free accessories or gift cards make buying from Apple worthwhile or not.

That being said, those who buy a new MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or iMac in Canada will get a free $200 gift card while iPad Pro, iPad Air, and Mac mini buyers will get a $150 gift card instead.

Buying in Mexico? You'll get a free pair of third-gen AirPods with any new MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or iMac. Choosing an iPad Pro or iPad Air will get you an Apple Pencil, while a new Mac mini gets you a free pair of second-gen AirPods instead. There are also upgrade options available if you're willing to pay a little to top up your freebie.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.