Apple is offering free AirPods for students with this limited time deal

The start of the new term is fast approaching, and if you’re a new student, you’re likely embarking on a last-minute scramble to sort your kit for the year ahead. Or perhaps you’re a returning student looking to upgrade a tired laptop that decided to crash five minutes before your assignment was due.

No matter what your reason is for wanting to upgrade your back-to-school tech, I’ve spied a deal that’s worth considering: university students, parents and anyone working in education can get a free pair of AirPods 4 with the purchase of an iPad, MacBook or iMac.

Of course, a brand new iPad, MacBook or Mac is a significant purchase, and as The Independent’s consumer writer, my main priority is to save you money. If you weren’t planning on buying a brand new Mac, iPad, MacBook or iMac, it’s not a financially responsible choice to drop hundreds of pounds just because Apple are throwing a pair of AirPods.

Even with this deal, you’ll be spending far more than you would if you bought a non-Apple tablet or laptop, and opted for a less expensive pair of our best wireless earbuds. If you’re an Apple fan, you could also save hundreds by getting refurbished models from a reputable site like BackMarket.

But if you’re set on a new iPad, Mac or MacBook, now’s a good time to take advantage of this deal. While third parties often beat Apple on price, through its Education Store, you can currently get up to 11 per cent off, plus a free pair of AirPods 4 to listen to your study playlist.

This deal runs until Tuesday 21 October, so if you’re undecided, there’s no need to rush into a big purchase. Here’s everything you need to know.

Who can buy the student AirPods deal?

We’re calling it a student deal, but really, it’s available to more people than that. Here’s who can get it:

• New and returning university students
• Parents of new and returning university students
• Teachers and other employees of any educational institution, which includes not just universities but also schools and colleges

You’ll need to go to the Education Store and sign up using Unidays. Parents will need to get their child to verify through Unidays before completing a purchase. Education workers can create a Unidays staff account.

Upgrade to the AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation

As part of this deal, you can choose to upgrade to the AirPods Pro 2, usually sold for £229, for an additional £50. For example, if you get a MacBook Air on the Education Store for £899, and you choose the AirPods Pro, you’ll pay £949.

Similarly, if minimising background noise is important to you, there’s an option to upgrade to the AirPods 4, usually sold for £129, with active noise cancellation. This will cost an extra £50, unless you’re getting an iMac in which case no extra charge will be added.

Other accessories included in this deal

AirPods aren’t the only accessories included in this deal. If you wanted to, you could get an Apple keyboard, mouse, trackpad or Apple pencil pro as part of some of the bundle offers.

You’ll be asked which accessory you want to choose before you check out – just make sure you check the total at the end so you don’t end up paying an extra fee by accident.

Get a free pair of AirPods 4 with these Apple deals

We’ve listed the products you can get a free pair of AirPods with below. Each model has different options available for storage, size and colour, but we’ve listed the lowest price you can get each one from under the deal.

iPad Air

You can get an iPad Air, with a pair of AirPods 4 included, on Apple’s Education store. This isn’t the cheapest price we’ve seen for this model, as you can nab it for £415.89 on On Buy, but with the AirPods 4 included, Apple comes out on top here.

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1. £599 £549 from Apple.com

Prices may vary

iPad Pro

The iPad Pro, which tech critic David Phelan called “monsterously powerful and impossibly thin”, is 11 per cent off on Apple’s education store. Again, this price is beaten by On Buy, which is selling it for £730, but you won’t get the AirPods 4 included.

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1. £999 £899 from Apple.com

Prices may vary

MacBook Air

This tech icon is on sale for 11 per cent off on Apple’s Education Store with AirPods 4 thrown in. Not bothered about the AirPods? You can get it without from Amazon for £849.

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1. £99 £899 from Apple.com

Prices may vary

MacBook Pro

You can save £100 on the latest MacBook Pro, and get a pair of AirPods thrown in when you buy it via Apple’s Education store. At the time of writing, this is the lowest price you can buy a new MacBook Pro for from a reputable retailer.

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1. £1,499 £1,599 from Apple.com

Prices may vary

iMac

Though a £50 discount might not seem like much for a product this costly, this is the best price we’ve seen for an iMac at the moment – and that’s without factoring in the AirPods 4, which you’ll get bundled in.

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1. £1,299 £1,249 from Apple.com

Prices may vary

Want more discounts on tech? We cover all the latest laptop deals