What to Expect at Apple's 'Let's Take a Field Trip' Educational Event on March 27

[Williesleg]

Based on Tim Cook's recent comments I'd be surprised if it's anything hardware at all.

Probably looking more like iTunes for Schools or discount Apple Music for teachers for a year.

He said they aren't in the hardware business anymore, just into services, that's where the growth is.

 

[mlody]

If the new low cost iPad supports the Apple Pen and it costs under $300, I will be tempted to upgrade my daughter's iPad Air 2 to that model just to get the pen capabilities for her.

 

[LordVic]

If the new low cost iPad supports the Apple Pen and it costs under $300, I will be tempted to upgrade my daughter's iPad Air 2 to that model just to get the pen capabilities for her.

would definitely get me thinking about replacing my aging Air. this thing really suffers on iOS11
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Based on Tim Cook's recent comments I'd be surprised if it's anything hardware at all.

Probably looking more like iTunes for Schools or discount Apple Music for teachers for a year.

He said they aren't in the hardware business anymore, just into services, that's where the growth is.

Whe he says stuff like this, take it like a politician making a promise. there's very little depth to it other than rhetoric to appease.

there's a long long history of him saying stuff that never comes to fruition.

there's a very very good reason there's a meme about tim cook's clogged pipeline.

 

[Mac 128]

I'd buy an updated pencil if -
1. It wasn't so freakishly long
2. The lightning connector was female so you could just charge it from any cable lying around everywhere.

I still can't believe point 2 is even still being discussed. The most obvious need to charge the pencil while using it is with the iPad, and the most convenient way, charging to a useable capacity in minutes.

That said, since Apple already includes a detachable cap that is easily lost, why not a double sided male Lightning pass through adapter that stays in the pencil allowing it to be charged as Apple intended, or removed from the pencil and stored in the cap, allowing any Lightning cable to charge it. The only reason I can fathom for why they didn't do that originally is due to space constraints.

iPhone SE 2 would be a big hit. Once Apple had that Best Buy sales for the original people went nuts. IMO and yes I tried newer versions. The SE is perfecto!

I agree -- and makes perfect sense to announce during an educational event. Every kid has a cell phone now, if only in the event of a horrific emergency like the random school shootings that continue unimpeded year after year. The SE then certainly makes a compelling low cost option for Apple to tie to students, and for teachers for that matter, who are soon going to have to use what little extra is left from their meager pay checks to buy bullets for their guns.

Wouldn’t an update like an iPhone SE2 or MacBook be something that is live-streamed?

I think it would, so it’s probably l not going to be those two

Not necessarily. It all depends on what's being offered. If they are just spec bumps and price drops, then they're usually items that are quietly released on the Apple Store without any fanfare. So an event of any kind would be an upgrade over how these things are usually handled, and could imply some significant updates, if not complete redesigns (which I agree would probably require a bigger live-stream event).

 

[aidler]

I'd say "Nothing".

 

[LordVic]

I'm generally curious what a education focused Apple event will entail that's education focused. There's an amazing realm of possibility with software/hardware to help education today.

For Example, Apple could donate millions of iPads to the public school system so that every student around the country has access to modern tools.

or, Apple can do what they did last time and just use it as a sales technique (which had a bit of blowback when school boards saw just how much Apple was charging them)

they could create programs that will teach basics of computer programming and design and showcase how computers work, or they can just be using it for marketing.

they could do a lot of things with their power and waelth that have truly amazing benefits to students today. They have the power, wealth and know how to do som, and I hope thats what this is, instead of just another product reveal.

 

[Crow_Servo]

Nope. On the app it says clearly “after it concludes” !!
So 8am its after 1 hour of event time

Dangit. Thanks. I need to read all the details next time.

 

[jamface]

lol its actually shorter than a standard no 2 pencil.

No.2 pencil is 7.5"
Apple Pencil is 6.92"

You clearly don’t use pencils. They get much shorter...

 

[Dave245]

He said they aren't in the hardware business anymore, just into services, that's where the growth is.

When did he say that? Source please. As far as I know Apple are still making hardware.

 

[9081094]

"If there is a new iPhone SE 2 on the horizon, major design changes and the adoption of features from flagship phones are unlikely given the iPhone SE's position as a low-cost device."

Yessiree! Premium SE-X might be around the corner in September!

You can get real good hardware for a phone around $ 500 these days. So why can’t Apple with the SE? They’ve the benefits of large scales, benefits of their own processors... if Apple is serious about service sales and want to attract more Android users and stay relevant with iOS, the best thing they could do is to give the SE more punch, keep the same size and make it all screen. Plenty of others are showing it is possible.
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I'm generally curious what a education focused Apple event will entail that's education focused. There's an amazing realm of possibility with software/hardware to help education today.

For Example, Apple could donate millions of iPads to the public school system so that every student around the country has access to modern tools.

or, Apple can do what they did last time and just use it as a sales technique (which had a bit of blowback when school boards saw just how much Apple was charging them)

they could create programs that will teach basics of computer programming and design and showcase how computers work, or they can just be using it for marketing.

they could do a lot of things with their power and waelth that have truly amazing benefits to students today. They have the power, wealth and know how to do som, and I hope thats what this is, instead of just another product reveal.

Yep agreed. Every student learning to work or getting accustomed of using Apple is likely to use Apple in the future too. Make it affordable and interesting for students and you can harvest your investment later. Long term investment.

 

[Keirasplace]

Based on Tim Cook's recent comments I'd be surprised if it's anything hardware at all.

Probably looking more like iTunes for Schools or discount Apple Music for teachers for a year.

He said they aren't in the hardware business anymore, just into services, that's where the growth is.

Except he didn't say that at all but hey, spread the lies huh.

 

[Dave245]

Except he didn't say that at all but hey, spread the lies huh.

Yep and no source to back it up, it’s about as believable as one of Donald Trumps promise’s.

 

[shplock]

If they do introduce a new MBA at this event and can admit their mistake and ditch that abysmal keyboard and go back to the far superior one and add a few more ports then I'd buy a new MBA in a heartbeat, otherwise no sale.

Then presumably you would complain that it was too big and too heavy and indeed what you end up with is a MacBook Pro not a MacBook Air.

 

[GoodWheaties]

And yet Apple sells an iPad keyboard. They spin this ‘user experience’ to suit their marketing.

I use my iPad almost exclusively with one and don’t find it a bad experience at all. It’s not about drawing or doing intensive work with my finger on a vertical plane. It’s about quickly tapping a buttons or zooming in with a finger pinch.

Unlike MacBooks, an iPad keyboard doesn’t have a giant, amazing trackpad that is even easier to use than a screen.

 

[Starship67]

You clearly don’t use pencils. They get much shorter...

Not for a long time, I always hated shortened pencils so now I use the Apple Pencil and its always sharp and a correct length.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

New MacBook Air and Pro will likely be for WWDC.

Apple sees Chromebooks in education attacking iPad, not MacBook.

If that's true then Apple had better be ready to concede the education market to Google. It's not the first time they've done something stupid and lost the education market, their '80s education market failure was epic.

An iPad (or any other tablet) is not a replacement for a laptop, and never will be. Something may replace laptops someday, but it's not going to be a tablet.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

Apple is repatriating what $250 billion?
There are 50 million public school children in the United States.
Apple should just give every public school child an iPad.
Wouldn't dent their cash reserves.
Suck children into the Apple eco-system in Kindergarten.

 

[Bacillus]

The chromified school market is lost for Apple - as long as it doesn’t deliver on the need for deployment tools (device management, app/version management, content mgt., rights/access mgt.) and keeps denying the need for multiple iOS accounts.
Cook & co don’t even understand the concept of double instance multi-tasking (2 Word/Excel docs at the same time), making their post-PC claims near ridiculous.

So an iPad with a pencil (if it comes at a Chromebook‘s pricepoint to start with...) basically remains an overpriced sketchbook. A cheap repackaging effort that only underlines the lack of a broader understanding of the sectors’ needs.

Better stay out of this market - edu won’t match Cook’s premium financial prerequisites anyway and it would make his “thinking in the best interest of the customer” just verbal fluff.

 

[hajime]

You clearly don’t use pencils. They get much shorter...

Perhaps Apple Pencil 2 will also get shorter over time. Then, we need to buy a new one.

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

As much money as I have spent with Apple. They ought to start paying me to use their products. Not the other way around lol.

 

[SeattleMoose]

Lower price points are usually a plus provided performance/functionality remains the same.

 

[Tech198]

I really don't get any of this...

- Apple comes out with the iPad mini, which is more than adequate for the education market, and is smaller than 9.7"
- They then discontinue it probably because the only factor would be "can't make it more affordable to education market"
- Then they need a smaller design than the iPad Pro, as if its something they never have done before.

Cost would be the only reason for a new iPad..

Unless i'm missing something, Apple likes to play games. and is out of the "thinking 5 years ahead" type.

 

[pl1984]

More emojis! Please let there be more emojis!

 

[Frisco]

Based on Tim Cook's recent comments I'd be surprised if it's anything hardware at all.

Probably looking more like iTunes for Schools or discount Apple Music for teachers for a year.

He said they aren't in the hardware business anymore, just into services, that's where the growth is.

What? If have Apple realized this in the 1980s there would be no Winblows!

 

[Mal67]

I for one would like to see new laptops released. I just don't see why they would need a special event to do that. If they've got new laptops just update the Apple page and let them out.