Apple has another event coming up at the end of the month. The invites include a handwritten note, with a surprisingly direct reference to education. Apple says they have creative ideas for teachers and students, and the event will be at a High School in Illinois, instead of their usual California location. Apple is literally taking a field trip to show off their products. Springtime is Apple’s chance to refresh their iPad lineup, and, on one occasion, release the iPhone SE. The iPhone SE is now ancient, in need of an update, but that’s not Apple’s only product that’s in need of an update. The MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and iPad mini desperately need overhauls. The invite even suggests that we may see an upgraded Apple Pencil. All of these products are perfect for students, teachers, and schools, who often need to think of both cost and technological capabilities. What good is an iPad Pro for teaching kids if you can only afford one per classroom?
Why Hold This Event?
Apple has neglected some of the products that would be perfect for schools and students. Low cost Macs like the Mac Mini or MacBook Air would be great tools for introducing students to software engineering. iPads can be used to learn beginner’s coding in Swift, as well as hold textbooks, notes, and provide a source of research. Students may want smaller iPads to fit in their backpacks, and school boards, teachers, and parents want affordable school gear. Right now, no iPad with Apple Pencil support is affordable on a school’s or parent’s budget, and the Macs that would be perfect for education haven’t been updated in many years.
Basically put, it’s about time Apple remembered its importance in education. Many people in my generation have fond memories of growing up using Macs in school, but classrooms slowly moved to PCs as they became more cost effective. Apple has been making products that would be great for education, but, practically, just aren’t.
Apple’s “Let’s take a field trip” message could also reference augmented reality (AR). With iOS 11, Apple introduced ARKit, which allows app developers to make powerful AR apps. Imagine a partnership with museums for AR enabled apps. Perhaps students could bring exhibits from the Natural History Museum in NYC to their classroom in Kansas. Or, perhaps on a field trip, your phone could serve as your guide around the museum.
Apple’s invites usually leave big clues. This one actually has text on it explaining that the event would be about education, and it’s not difficult to see that the Apple logo was styled to look as though it was drawn with an Apple Pencil. It’s a stretch, but maybe Apple will finally release a Mac that can use the Apple Pencil. At the very least, we can assume that they’ll be releasing a new device that uses the Apple Pencil.
Apple’s event will start at 10am on March 27th, likely local Chicago time (though the invite doesn’t exactly specify). That’s central time, one hour behind eastern time, two ahead of pacific time. Therefore, you can expect to be able to stream the even live at 11am eastern, 8am pacific.
Possible New Products
- New iPads (Very likely)
- New MacBook Air (Likely)
- Updated Apple Pencil (Very Likely)
- New Mac Mini (Possible)
- AR App: (Possibly, but less likely)
- Mac with Apple Pencil Support (Unlikely, but a girl can dream)
- AirPower (Likely, Apple announced this some time ago but hasn’t released it yet)
Source: Joe Rossignol, MacRumors