Apple's student promo lands in the UK with £130 gift cards up for grabs on Mac and iPad

Back to School Apple
(Image credit: Apple)

Apple has today launched its annual savings event for higher education students in the UK, offering hefty gift cards with select purchases of its Mac and iPads. 

Every year, Apple offers students a chance to buy its latest and greatest products for university while getting a nice gift card to top off the savings that come with its annual education pricing discounts. For some years we have seen free Beats headphones or even AirPods. However this year it's back to gift cards. Here are all the details. 

Apple student offer 2023

This year's offer runs from July 13 through October 223, 2023. It is open to current and newly-accepted university students, as well as teachers and staff "at all levels". It's verified through UniDAYS in the UK, so if you have that, then you qualify. 

So what's on offer? With Apple's Mac lineup, you get:

  • M1 MacBook Air 13" - £899 - get a £130 gift card
  • M2 MacBook Air 13" - £1049 - get a £130 gift card
  • M2 MacBook Air 15" - £1289 - get a £130 gift card
  • MacBook Pro 13" - £1249 - get a £130 gift card
  • MacBook Pro 14" - £1989 - get a £130 gift card
  • MacBook Pro 16" - £2479 - get a £130 gift card
  • iMac - £1349 - get a £130 gift card
  • Mac mini - £539 - get a £100 gift card

This might not be a great saving on Apple's best MacBooks, but the gift card is definitely a nice addition. 

You can also get an iPad Air for £609, an iPad Pro 11-inch for £839, and Apple's best iPad, the iPad Pro 12-inch from £1139, all with a £100 gift card. There are also savings to be had on the Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard, and AppleCare+ (20% off). 

Should students buy from Apple?

This is a tricky one because while Apple does offer more generous discounts to students and a gift card is nice, you can get more concrete savings if you shop elsewhere. For example, the M1 MacBook Pro is £1249, but you can buy it on Amazon for £1198. John Lewis is also cheaper for the M1 MacBook Air, but Apple offers the best price for the other models. Apple also offers the best price on all three of the iPads on offer.

Students also get 3 months free of Apple Music and Apple TV Plus, and then the special student rate for both thereafter. Apple Music for students is £5.99 a month and includes Apple TV Plus, with Apple's best Apple TV Plus shows including Ted Lasso, Silo, Foundation, and more all free.  

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9