Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will this week introduce a new low cost iPad and education software in an effort to win back students from Google and Microsoft Corp.
In its first major product event of the year, Apple will return to its roots in the education market. An event planned for Tuesday this week at Lane Technical College Prep High School in Chicago will mark the first time Apple has held a product launch geared specifically toward education since 2012 when it unveiled a tool for designing e-books for the iPad.
In Chicago, the world’s most-valuable technology company plans to show off a new version of its cheapest iPad that should appeal to the education market. The company will also showcase new software for the classroom and announce plans for a cheaper MacBook laptop computer to be introduced later this year.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs made schools a priority for the company early in its life. But as the company has driven toward mass-market and higher-margin products, Google and Microsoft have had success breaking into classrooms with inexpensive laptops and tablets. Last year, the global educational technology market generated US$17.7 billion in revenue, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.
Apple accounted for 17% of mobile computing shipments to American students in kindergarten through high school, according to Futuresource Consulting. Devices running Google’s operating systems on Chromebooks or Android tablets held 60% of the market, and Windows PCs had 22%. While Macs and iPads make up less than 20% of Apple’s sales combined, students and teachers are a key market to drive future purchases.
A new, cheaper MacBook laptop is in the works and likely destined to replace the MacBook Air at a price less than US$1,000. The MacBook Air, introduced about a decade ago, hasn’t seen a major change since 2010, the same year the iPad came out. Although the laptop is popular with college students, it has languished as Apple focuses on more expensive Macs.
Rival laptops have made inroads into the education market lately, a field that originally helped Apple make its name. The sector is prized among industry giants because students learn to use a certain type of device, then head into the workforce and spread the technology wider.
Tech Insider
