Skip Apple's student discount! Here's how to grab a MacBook for cheaper
So how are students spotting the secret deals here?
The most common route students take to buy a MacBook is through Apple's official Education Store. It offers discounted pricing on Macs and iPads, and sometimes sweetens the deal with freebies, like a pair of AirPods, an Apple Pencil or a Magic Mouse.
However, to be honest, the price drop is marginal, just about ₹ 8,000 to ₹ 10,000 in most cases. For instance take the M4 MacBook Air, it's price drops from ₹ 1,14,900 to ₹ 1,04,900, about a 10% cut. But these offers don't last all year and frankly, the discount isn't that massive.
To be clear, Apple's student pricing is still one of the safer and more reliable options. But when it comes to making every rupee count, there's another Apple-approved method that deserves your attention.
Apple's Certified Refurbished Store
We are sure you have never really heard about this lesser-known section of Apple website that offers returned or lightly used products. In simpler words, these products are repaired, restored and resold at significantly lower prices.
If the word refurbished makes you think of scratched-up laptops or questionable third-party sellers, don't worry, this isn't that. Apple's refurbishment process is thorough and tightly controlled. Every device is cleaned, fully tested and any faulty parts are replaced with genuine Apple components. It's then repackaged in a fresh box with new cables and accessories, and shipped to your door without any charges.
That's not it. You also get a full one-year Apple warranty, just like you would with a brand-new device. You can also opt for AppleCare+ to extend your coverage.
If you're looking to save smart without compromising on quality, this is a route worth exploring.
Discounts on top of discounts
Things get more interesting here with the price advantage. While Apple's education store lists the base M4 MacBook Air at ₹ 74,600, the Certified Refurbished Store often offers the same model for just ₹ 70,400. That's an additional ₹ 4000 off for a device that looks and performs just like new.
Although there's a chance you might stumble upon a cheaper MacBook on eBay or Facebook Marketplace, but those deals rarely come with Apple's rigorous quality control, fresh packaging or the one-year warranty that the refurbished store provides.
That said, it's always smart to check prices across major retailers. Occasionally, stores like Amazon or Best Buy offer new Macs at prices that rival Apple's refurbished listings. If you find a new MacBook for less, that's obviously the better deal.
But if you're short on time or don't want to play the waiting game, Apple's refurbished store gives you a safe, reliable way to save. It's one of the best ways to get a high-quality MacBook for college without paying full price or compromising on quality.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Spotify to raise Premium subscription price in multiple regions from September: New pricing details
Spotify has announced plans to raise the price of its Premium Individual subscription in several global markets, effective from September. The monthly fee will increase from €10.99 to €11.99 in regions including South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. The streaming company confirmed that subscribers would receive email notifications detailing the change over the coming month. The move is part of Spotify's broader strategy to strengthen its profit margins. This follows previous price adjustments and a series of cost-cutting measures that have contributed to the company's first annual profit in 2024. Despite a rise in both monthly active users and paying subscribers during the second quarter, Spotify reported a quarterly loss attributed to higher taxes tied to employee compensation. The tax impact has also led to a more cautious profit outlook for the third quarter. In a bid to diversify its offering and attract more users, Spotify has been increasing its video content through its Partner Program. The initiative provides podcast creators with monetisation tools and has seen a growing number of contributors, significantly boosting the platform's video catalogue. Additionally, the firm is beginning to benefit from regulatory changes in the United States. Apple has approved Spotify's app update that includes subscription pricing and external payment links, following a court ruling that blocked Apple from charging commission on off-app purchases. Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek noted that this development has resulted in a 'very positive uptick' in the US market. He added that similar regulatory shifts in Europe and the UK could further benefit Spotify and other developers. Spotify revealed that its platform now features a total of seven million podcasts, including more than 430,000 video podcast titles. In addition, it offers over 350,000 audiobooks available for one-time purchase. As of June 2025, the company employed 7,309 full-time staff across the globe. (With inputs from Reuters)
India.com
5 hours ago
- India.com
How much salary Apple pays its employees working in various roles like AI, software development, machine learning, and others?
New Delhi: A few days back, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the company will now focus a lot more on artificial intelligence (AI) as he termed the technology a 'revolution'. He said that artificial intelligence is greater than the internet or smartphones. Why is Tim Cook concerned about Apple's AI reputation? He was speaking at a rare all-hands meeting at Apple's Cupertino campus following the company's latest earnings report, where he emphasised that Apple must act swiftly to move ahead of other players in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) as he laid out a determined roadmap that places AI at the heart of Apple's future. What is the reason behind Apple losing its top AI talent? Now, as the rivalry and competition rev up, Apple has come to a point where it has to retain its top AI talent somehow or the other. Four of Apple's senior AI researchers have left the company and joined Meta in just the past month. This forced the company to hike the remuneration for Apple engineers in its Apple Foundation Models (AFM) group, reports Bloomberg. What is Apple offering recruits? Apple launched Apple Intelligence in 2024, yet its AI efforts have been comparatively slow. Siri is still waiting for the major revamp, and Apple's AI search ambitions are still in early development. However, Apple is aggressively hiring across machine learning and AI roles, offering lucrative pay packages and perks like stock grants, product discounts, and flexible working conditions. While Apple doesn't publicly disclose salaries, a report by Business Insider shared filings for international hires. The filings, as per the report, reveal that AI and engineering roles are among the best-paid. For example, a Machine Learning Engineer can earn up to $312,200 in base pay, while Human Interface Designers top out at $468,500. Software Development Engineers, meanwhile, can pocket up to $378,700 annually. Take a look at Apple's salary ranges across various roles (base pay only, excluding stock grants and bonuses): Salary Range (USD) Machine Learning Engineer $143,100 – $312,200 Machine Learning Researcher $114,100 – $312,200 Data Scientist $105,550 – $322,400 Software Development Engineer (Applications) $132,267 – $378,700 Human Interface Designer $135,400 – $468,500 Hardware Systems Engineer $125,495 – $378,700 AR/VR Software Development $129,805 – $312,200 Software Engineering Manager $166,691 – $378,700 RF/Analog/Mixed Signal Engineer $131,352 – $312,200 Design Verification Engineer $103,164 – $312,200 As has been summed up by moneycontrol, 'Apple's salaries are competitive, but Meta's aggressive poaching spree highlights a broader 'talent war' in AI, where Big Tech giants are racing not just for products, but for people'.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Apple CEO Tim Cook tells staff AI is ‘ours to grab' in hourlong pep talk
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook , holding a rare all-hands meeting following earnings results, rallied employees around the company's artificial intelligence prospects and an 'amazing' pipeline of products. The executive gathered staff at Apple's on-campus auditorium Friday in Cupertino, California, telling them that the AI revolution is 'as big or bigger' as the internet, smartphones, cloud computing and apps. 'Apple must do this. Apple will do this. This is sort of ours to grab,' Cook told employees, according to people aware of the meeting. 'We will make the investment to do it.' The iPhone maker has been late to AI, debuting Apple Intelligence months after OpenAI, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Microsoft Corp. and others flooded the market with products like ChatGPT. And when Apple finally released its AI tools, they fell flat. But Cook struck an optimistic tone, noting that Apple is typically late to promising new technologies. 'We've rarely been first,' the executive told staffers. 'There was a PC before the Mac; there was a smartphone before the iPhone; there were many tablets before the iPad; there was an MP3 player before iPod.' But Apple invented the 'modern' versions of those product categories, he said. 'This is how I feel about AI.' An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the gathering. The hourlong meeting addressed a range of topics, including the retirement of operating chief Jeff Williams, increasing Apple TV+ viewership and advances in health care with features like the AirPods Pro hearing-aid technology. It also touched on donations and community service by Apple employees, the company's goal to become carbon neutral by 2030, and the impact of regulations. 'The reality is that Big Tech is under a lot of scrutiny around the world,' Cook said. 'We need to continue to push on the intention of the regulation and get them to offer that up, instead of these things that destroy the user experience and user privacy and security.' Cook often holds town hall-style chats when visiting Apple's offices around the world, but companywide meetings from the Steve Jobs Theater at headquarters are unusual. The remarks followed a blockbuster earnings report, with sales growing nearly 10% during the June quarter. That beat Wall Street expectations and eased concerns about iPhone demand and a slowdown in China. Apple still faces myriad challenges, including Trump administration tariffs and a regulatory crackdown on its business practices. The company said Thursday that tariffs would bring a $1.1 billion headwind this quarter, though Apple was upbeat about sales growth. It also said that App Store revenue rose by a percentage in the double digits last quarter, despite efforts in the EU and elsewhere to further restrict that business. Echoing comments he made during the earnings conference call, Cook told employees the company is investing in AI in a 'big way.' He said 12,000 workers were hired in the last year, with 40% of the new hires joining in research and development roles. Apple's chip development efforts, led by executive Johny Srouji, are key to the company's AI strategy, Cook said. Apple is working on a more powerful cloud-computing chip — code-named Baltra — to power artificial intelligence features, Bloomberg News has reported. It's also setting up a new AI server manufacturing facility in Houston. The meeting included Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, who discussed the future of Apple's Siri voice assistant. The company had planned to roll out a Siri overhaul as part of Apple Intelligence earlier this year, adding the ability to tap into user data to better fulfill requests. It was delayed, spurring management changes for the company's AI work. Federighi explained that the problem was caused by trying to roll out a version of Siri that merged two different systems: one for handling current commands — like setting timers — and another based on large language models, the software behind generative AI. 'We initially wanted to do a hybrid architecture, but we realized that approach wasn't going to get us to Apple quality,' Federighi said. Now, Apple is working on a version of Siri that moves to an entirely new architecture for all of its capabilities. That iteration is slated for as early as spring, Bloomberg News has reported, though Apple executives haven't confirmed a timeline other than a release next year. 'The work we've done on this end-to-end revamp of Siri has given us the results we needed,' the engineering executive told employees. 'This has put us in a position to not just deliver what we announced, but to deliver a much bigger upgrade than we envisioned. There is no project people are taking more seriously.' Federighi cited leadership changes, including putting Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell and his headset software leadership team in charge of Siri, as a driving force in improving the product. He said Rockwell and his group have 'supercharged' the company's work in the area. In his speech, Cook also pushed employees to move more quickly to weave AI into their work and future products. 'All of us are using AI in a significant way already, and we must use it as a company as well,' Cook said. 'To not do so would be to be left behind, and we can't do that.' Employees should push to deploy AI tools faster, and urge their managers and service and support teams to do the same, he said. Cook also addressed the company's retail strategy, stressing that the current plan is to focus on opening new stores in emerging markets and upping the investment in Apple's online store. The iPhone maker is opening outlets in India, the United Arab Emirates and China this year, and is preparing to add its first location in Saudi Arabia next year. 'We need to be in more countries, and you'll see us go into more emerging markets in particular,' Cook said. That doesn't mean Apple will ignore other places, he said, but a 'disproportionate amount of growth' will be in new areas. The CEO also shared his enthusiasm about upcoming products, though he didn't get specific. 'I have never felt so much excitement and so much energy before as right now,' he said. Bloomberg News has previously reported that Apple plans to launch its first foldable iPhone next year and is also working on a stream of smart home devices. New headset products, smart glasses, a push into robotics and a redesigned iPhone for the two-decade anniversary are also underway. 'The product pipeline, which I can't talk about: It's amazing, guys. It's amazing,' Cook said. 'Some of it you'll see soon, some of it will come later, but there's a lot to see.'
