Apple updates its education program with new verification and Apple Watch eligibility
Education customers in the US will need to verify their eligibility to make a discounted purchase as Apple is expanding its verification process to the US and other countries.
As of Friday, May 8, Apple began enforcing its education pricing more strictly. Previously, while Apple Stores verified eligibility in person, anyone could make discounted purchases by visiting the virtual educational store.
Apple has partnered with Unidays on a new verification system. Students will be able to verify their registration and professors will be able to provide appropriate documentation through the new automated process.
Most will receive verification instantly. In rare cases, verification may take up to 24 hours before you can make a purchase.
This new program will apply to in-store and online shoppers. Users who purchase online can go through the portal and fill out the same forms in-store. Users can complete the checkout first before entering the store to speed up the process.
Some countries already had a verification process. Countries benefiting from verification for the first time include:
- WE
- Australia
- Canada
- Chile
- Hong Kong
- Türkiye
This program is also capable of verifying home school teachers. By providing the requested information, including identification numbers and other documents, they can be approved more easily.
The new verification program will help prevent people from abusing education rates. This is especially important on new, low-margin items like the MacBook Neo which offers a substantial 16% discount on the base model.
Apple offers a similar program for military purchases. There is a different verification process, which has been in place for some time.
On Thursday, Apple also updated its education program to include the Apple Watch for the first time. The discounts are around 10%.