Apple devices are ordinarily not seen as most appropriate for school-going kids and teachers – mostly because of their prices, but also due to considerations of mental wellbeing. But now, it seems, Apple is extending its exclusive offerings to students and their guides. The company has now sent out press invites for an event for “creative new ideas for teachers and students“, which is scheduled for March 27.
Apple, which usually holds confab-style events at its Cupertino campus, is organizing the event at Chicago’s Lane Tech College Prep High School. Notably, this is the company’s first education-centric event since 2012. Although the calligraphic press invite does not hint at any detail about potential announcements, we have been hearing several rumors about a cheaper and improved MacBook Air and a more affordable iPad.
Taiwan’s DigiTimes Research recently shared the possibility of a MacBook Air with an LCD Retina Display that might cost less than the current model which retails at $999. Another analyst, Tubin Qiu, anticipates that the MacBook Air could cost between $799-$899. DigiTimes also speculates Apple to launch a 9.7-inch iPad priced at $259 – $70 cheaper than the current iPad. With the new iPad, the company could also unveil an updated Apple Pencil, probably priced to suit students.
Apple currently has a few offerings aimed at school kids that include iTunes U which is a library of recorded lectures from various colleges, an app by the name “Classroom” which assists teachers while teaching and keeping a track of students’ performance, iBooks Author for teachers who want to share notes with students or for students who want to embark on a creative journey early in life, and Swift Playgrounds for teaching kids how to code using the language.
The tech giant had recently revealed that it will expand its “Everyone Can Code” curriculum to all schools and city colleges in Chicago – a step that will benefit more than 500,000 students. We expect to learn more about the development at the event. Lastly, an alleged iPhone SE 2 pre-production model recently leaked out and we could hear something about the device at the event.
