As of July 8, 2026, Apple has yet to announce its annual Back to School promotion in the United States and Canada, leaving students and educators wondering about its status. Historically, Apple has launched this promotion in June, but there have been instances of July starts in previous years.
For context, here are the launch dates for the past several years:
- 2025: June 17
- 2024: June 20
- 2023: June 5
- 2022: June 24
- 2021: June 17
- 2020: June 15
- 2019: July 9
- 2018: July 12
- 2017: July 12
In 2025, the promotion began on June 17, offering college students and educational staff free accessories such as AirPods 4 or an Apple Pencil Pro with the purchase of qualifying Mac or iPad models. However, with recent price increases on all Macs and iPads, the specifics of this year’s promotion remain uncertain.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had previously indicated that the 2026 Back to School offer would commence by the end of June, but this has not materialized. It’s possible that Apple is delaying the promotion to allow customers time to adjust to the recent price hikes, though this is speculative.
Given that the promotion launched between July 9 and July 12 in 2017 through 2019, it’s reasonable to anticipate an announcement in the coming days.
It’s also important to note that Apple now requires UNiDAYS verification for educational discounts in the U.S. and Canada, ensuring that only eligible students and educators can access these offers.
As the back-to-school season approaches, potential buyers should stay alert for official announcements from Apple regarding the promotion’s start date and specific offers.
