Apple Launches 2018 Back-to-School Sale (But You Should Wait)

Apple fans received not one, but two surprises this week.  

In addition to the new Apple laptop announcements, the Apple Store also kicked off its Back-to-School promo. New for 2018 is the inclusion of Apple’s new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops with Touch Bar and Touch ID.  

However, we strongly suggest you wait a few days — if you can — for a better sale from Best Buy. That’s because Apple’s 2018 Back-to-School sale is very similar to last year’s promo: buy a Mac or iPad Pro and get a free pair of Beats headphones. It’s a mediocre deal at best that’s only available to students, parents, and school faculty via the Apple Education Store.  

Currently, Best Buy is taking $150 off Apple's new MacBook Pros for students only. (You get an instant $150 coupon code when you sign up here). So at the moment, the Apple Store's deal is slightly better because you get free headphones. But it’s only a matter of time before Best Buy offers a better and broader discount that's not just for students, but for all shoppers.  

Year after year, Best Buy has undercut the Apple Store’s Back-to-School sale and Black Friday sale. So if you can wait a few days, it’ll be worth it.  

As for the laptops, both MacBook Pros now pack Intel’s 8th-generation processors. The 13-inch model, which keeps the same $1,799 starting price as the 2017 model, includes a Core i5 CPU, Apple T2 chip, True Tone display, and up to a 2TB SSD SSD.  

The 15-inch model, which also keeps its predecessor’s $2,399 base price, offers more performance and value as it houses Intel’s 6-Core Core i7 CPU as well as up to a whopping 4TB of storage. We'll be putting the new Macs through their paces soon, so stay tuned for hands-on impressions.