The Apple back to school event is now worldwide - offering free AirPods

apple back to school free airpods macbook ipad deals
(Image credit: Future)

Want a free pair of Apple AirPods? The Apple back to school sale is giving away $159 worth of free earbuds with every eligible iPad and MacBook purchase right now over on their education store page.

The Apple back to school sale has been ongoing the past few weeks in the US and Canada, however, now Apple has decided to extend it out to 26 countries across Europe, Asia, and South America. 

Eligible countries include the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China.

Note: these deals are intended for students, faculty, and all homeschooling teachers. If you'd like to check your eligibility, you can read the terms and conditions here, or find them separately on your regional site.

The free AirPods themselves are the standard Apple AirPods - not the AirPod Pro's or the wireless charger variant, although it's still a fantastic offer when you consider that they retail for $159 by themselves. If you choose, however, you can upgrade to the Pro's or wireless charger version and pay a small upcharge - you'll still be saving $159 in total.

We've rounded up the eligible iPad deals and MacBooks just down below so you can check out what's available as part of the Apple back to school promotion. All of these deals are available right now and have free delivery, plus, if you buy an iPad you're also eligible for a free custom engraving, which is a nice little bonus that's only available via the official Apple store.

iPad deals: free AirPods in the latest Apple Sale

Apple iPad Air + free AirPods | from $479 at Apple

Apple iPad Air + free AirPods | from $479 at Apple
The Apple iPad Air is perfect for people looking for the slimmest, lightest, and most stylish iPad you can buy right now. Starting at 64GB storage but available in 256GB also, these Air's feature a 10.5-inch LED screen and Apple's latest A12 Bionic processor.

Apple iPad Pro + free AirPods| from $749 at Apple

Apple iPad Pro + free AirPods | from $749 at Apple
The new iPad Pro's were only released a few months ago so this is a fantastic offer overall. Available in both 11-inch and 12.9-inch variants with storage ranging from 128GB all the way to 1TB, these Pro's feature a lot of power under the hood, as well as that gorgeous Liquid Retina display.

MacBook deals: free AirPods in the latest Apple Sale

Apple MacBook Air + free AirPods | from $899 at Apple

Apple MacBook Air + free AirPods | from $899 at Apple
$899 is already a fantastic starting price for a MacBook deal, and with some free AirPods thrown in, it's a great time to be picking up an Air right now. With a 13-inch display, 256GB SSD, 8GB of RAM, and a 10th Gen Intel Core i3 processor on the baseline specs, these MacBooks are a good buy if you want the lightest laptop possible but still need a bit of power.

Apple MacBook Pro + free AirPods | from $1,199 at Apple

Apple MacBook Pro + free AirPods | from $1,199 at Apple
At the very top end of the MacBook spectrum are these brand new Pro's, which were released barely a month ago. Baseline specs include Intel Core i5 processors, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, although there's a whole range of possible upgrades for those of you who need something really powerful.


While you're here, why not check out our dedicated best Apple MacBook sale prices and deals article, where you'll see a detailed comparison of all the current models you can buy. Likewise, if you'd like to see the best iPad deals available right now, we're also aiming to cover ever base there as well.

Alex Whitelock
Deals Editor

Alex is TechRadar's deals editor, specializing in getting our readers the bang bang for the buck on the tech that we know and love. He's a dab hand at covering retailer events like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day having over seven years of e-commerce experience at Future PLC; including bylines at our sister sites T3 and GamesRadar. Alex's expertise touches on most areas of TechRadar but he has a particular love for phones, laptops, and cameras, being an avid photographer. Outside of work, you'll find him indulging his love for street and travel photography, at home working on music, or down at the local climbing gym.