The newly “all-Apple district” will replace 30,000 Windows and Chromebook devices across its public schools.
Kansas City Public Schools announced that it is becoming “an all-Apple district.” 9to5Mac picked up on the news that to earn this moniker, the city’s education system will replace “more than 30,000 Windows PC and Chromebooks” with Apple devices over time. Notably, the district has acquired more than 4,500 of the recently released MacBook Neos for students in 8th grade and up. Younger grades will use the district’s existing stock of iPads and MacBook Airs.
The already inexpensive (and pretty dang impressive) MacBook Neo laptops get an even bigger discount for education users, with both students and teachers getting a deal of $499 on the budget computers. A bulk deal like this could have come at an even cheaper rate for Kansas City. It’s only one city’s public schools, but this arrangement could signal a shift toward Apple more aggressively courting education buyers.
Shortly after the Neo was announced, Microsoft made its own pitch to students with a discount software bundle, but that may not be as appealing for older grades who might already get access to programs through their schools or universities. For Apple to already have landed a deal of this scope, Microsoft may have been right to be worried about the competition, especially if this is a sign of what’s to come under the direction of new CEO John Ternus.
