Back-to-school season is offering some well-timed Apple deals on all the gear you need to return to the classroom this fall. Whether you’re just looking to cash in on these seasonal price cuts on AirPods or AirTags for yourself or outfit the student in your life with a new MacBook or iPad, there are savings to be had. I’ve searched the web and found the 23 most notable offers on the company’s latest and products.
Apple itself is also getting in on the savings. Available for students, their parents and even teachers, buying a new MacBook or iPad will score you an up to $150 gift card. That comes in addition to the year-round discount Apple offers on items sold through the Apple Store for Education. Just be sure you’re shopping through the brand’s education portal and that you take advantage before the promotion ends on Aug. 27.
Back-to-school AirPods deals
Apple's flagship AirPods Pro 3 are down to the third-best price to date with today's $50 discount. These are the earbuds I use every single day, and even after buying these at full price back at launch, I can still recommend the AirPods Pro 3 for their superb sound quality, all-day battery life, comfortable fit and reliable active noise cancellation that helps me block out my surroundings when it's time to focus.
If you're just looking to bring a pair of Apple earbuds back to campus this fall, the best value in Apple's lineup is the affordable AirPods 4. Our editors can already recommend them at their full $129 going rate, but now you can save $30 to make the true wireless listening experience even more affordable. Today's offer matches its second-best discount of the year and is the best price in over a month.
The AirPods 4 also come in a higher-end pair that adds active noise cancellation to the listening experience. They haven't been on sale for much of 2026, and now for back-to-school season, a rare discount has arrived that takes $34 off. This price is also $4 under the last few mentions from 4th of July weekend, Amazon Prime Day and Memorial Day. As much as I personally love the high-end AirPods Pro 3, that steep price tag might be a nonstarter for some. That's why the AirPods 4 are the next best thing for those on a tighter budget.
The best way to block out distracting audio is with the newest pair of the AirPods Max 2. These headphones rest on top of your ears and add even more capable active noise cancellation into the mix so you can focus on course work no matter how busy of an environment you're in. New for the second-generation pair are entirely new features like Conversation Awareness and Live Translation that make today's $100 discount even more notable.
The best price of the year has arrived on these wired earbuds for those who don't want to worry about keeping a pair of true wireless buds charged. This pair just clicks right into the Lightning connector on your iPhone 14 or older for instant access to music, podcasts and phone calls. Today's price is an extra $1 below the previous 4th of July discount, as well.
Back-to-school MacBook deals
Apple recently raised the price on its newest MacBook Air, which means it's more important than ever to score a discount. Despite the higher MSRP, you can save $100 on the best MacBook our editors have tested and its gorgeous 13-inch display, all-day battery life and portable design.
You can also save $100 on the 15-inch version of MacBook Air, which comes with everything we love about the 13-inch MacBook Air in a larger form factor. You'll enjoy the same impressive performance to go alongside a bigger screen for those who need the extra pixels to help with multitasking this semester. It's $100 off, marking its first discount since last month's price hikes.
Back-to-school AirTags deals
Don't worry about accidentally leaving your backpack in the library or losing your gear. Instead, place one of Apple's newest Bluetooth trackers inside your bag. The improved AirTag 2 has a longer range and louder speaker volume compared to the original, both of which make it easier to find everything from misplaced keys to backpacks and more. This deal is one of the first discounts and marks its second-best price to date.
A four-pack of Apple's latest luggage trackers is also on sale for one of the first times and lands at $10 off. This matches the Prime Day offer from last month as its best discount to date and is a better value than buying the item finders individually for those who want to place an AirTag in multiple bags.
Back-to-school Apple Watch deals
Smartwatches may typically be associated with getting in shape and nailing your workout goals, but they can also help provide insights into your overall health. The Apple Watch Series 11 does just that with a suite of sensors that can monitor everything from daily steps to heart rate, hypertension and sleep. This 42mm model comes in several aluminum finishes at $100 off.
The larger 46mm Apple Watch is also seeing the same $100 discounts across many of its band colors and aluminum combinations. Alongside tracking everything that the smaller version does, this one comes with an even larger display for keeping up with notifications from your iPhone, replying to texts and checking info from Apple's various customizable watch faces.
The new Apple Watch SE 3 is also on sale for adorning your wrist as you head back to the classroom. It's the best value in Apple's lineup of fitness trackers, offering much of the same health monitoring tech as the Series 11 at an even more affordable price that's now $30 off.
The new Apple Watch SE 3 also comes in a larger size for those who want the additional screen real estate to monitor weather, workout stats, calendar events and anything else you'll want to keep an eye on right from the device's customizable watch face. This rare $30 discount is one of the first in a handful of deals in 2026.
Back-to-school iPad deals
Apple just refreshed its tablet lineup with its newest iPad Air in spring, only to hit the 11-inch tablet with a price increase last month. If you were hoping to bring an iPad back to the classroom this fall, it's more important than ever to score a discount like these up to $60 off deals at Amazon. After trying it himself, CNN Underscored's senior tech editor loved that it came with a performance boost to ensure you'll be able to use it for years to come.
The most affordable iPad in Apple's collection is also on sale, but it's a smaller discount that I've tracked in the past. If you're looking to score one for the fall semester, every penny of savings helps. Despite only landing at $22 off, it's worth nothing that the iPad has largely been selling at full price for most of 2026, meaning today's an opportunity to score one of the best values around from Apple and our pick for the overall best iPad for less.
Back-to-school Apple accessory deals
If you're shopping for a new charger to power your iPhone or iPad, the best accessory isn't one that's made by Apple; it's Anker. My personal favorite USB-C wall charger is $10 off this week complete with smart charging tech that can protect my smartphone's battery from overheating to extending its lifespan.
If you would prefer an official Apple wall adapter, this model can charge two devices at a time, thanks to a pair of USB-C ports and 35 watts of power. It's just as capable for topping off your smartphone as it is for charging your iPad overnight. I also love that its design is compact enough to stow in a work bag or carry-on, or to even use at home behind a nightstand with its downward-facing ports.
It's rare to find deals on official Apple Watch bands. But ahead do the fall semester, you can save on quite a few colors at Amazon. If you're not planning to upgrade from an older version of the Apple Watch any time soon, this strap will fit with any 40mm smartwatch from the company.
The best price of the year is up for grabs on Apple's MagSafe battery pack that's designed specifically for the iPhone Air. According to CNN Underscored's tech experts who have tried it, it's an excellent option for those who don't already have a slim portable charger to expand the battery life of their smartphone for getting through long days in the classroom.
If you're hoping to take digital notes this school year, the Apple Pencil Pro is by far the best accessory to pair with many of Apple's iPads. It turns the tablets into one of the most capable digital writing and drawing experiences across nearly any tablet on the market. During testing, our tech editors were impressed by the new dial menu features that made it easier than ever to write and draw.
The basic USB-C Apple Pencil is also on sale this week, offering much of the same digital writing experience for less than its more expensive Pro counterpart. It doesn't have all the same bells and whistles, but it will get the job done for taking notes or drawing. Save $10 and score its best price of the year.
Back-to-school Beats deals
These on-ear Beats headphones provide a more comfortable all-day listening experience compared to in-ear earbuds and are now at least $50 off. Best Buy currently has the best price at $70 off, while Amazon and Walmart join in with sales of their own. Regardless of where you shop, these on-ear Beats are an easy recommendation if you're in the market for an affordable pair of headphones.
The Studio Pro are one of the best over-ear headphones we've tested, and now several colors are on sale. Their solid sound quality output and active noise cancellation far exceed what you'd normally expect from such an affordable price, and now you can save $150 ahead of back-to-school season.
Why these Apple deals are worth shopping
I’m constantly tracking price cuts across multiple online storefronts to ensure the tech deals are as good as retailers say. The rest of the deals team and I dive into each product’s price history while cross-referencing reviews and guides from other CNN Underscored editors to determine if it’s worth your cash.
Why trust CNN Underscored
CNN Underscored’s deals editors scour the internet daily for the best available sales and discounts, then put them on your radar in real time. They utilize a range of techniques and consider a variety of factors — price history checks, available coupon codes, competitor pricing — to determine if a deal is worthy of coverage (and your money).
For this article, CNN Underscored senior deals editor Rikka Altland took a closer look at Apple’s lineup of devices to find the ones truly on sale and actually worth shopping for back-to-school season. Altland has been doing just that for over a decade, and that kind of experience extends to the rest of our deals team. Being an advocate for buyers to make sure we’re only recommending the best prices on the best products is what we’re all about, and that focus comes across in our work.
