Apple going after Google in the classroom
Targets Chromebook with cheapest iPad, Schoolwork software
Apple is going head-to-head with Google in education, a market the iPhone maker helped pioneer, but has let languish.
For the first time in several years, Apple released hardware specific to education: a new iPad that squares up against Google’s cheap Chromebook laptops that have become popular in schools. Apple also introduced a new education service called Schoolwork, which will compete with Google’s Classroom software.
The new iPad has a 9.7 inch screen and costs $299 for students and schools, and $329 (all figures US) for other users. It supports the Apple Pencil accessory, a first for a non-Pro iPad model. New versions of its iWork productivity apps will work with the stylus, which costs $89 for students, $10 below the regular price.
Apple executive Greg Joswiak called the new iPad “faster than virtually any Chromebook,” during an event at a Chicago school on Tuesday. This was the first time Apple held a product launch geared toward education since 2012, when it unveiled a tool for designing ebooks for the iPad.
On Monday, ahead of Apple’s announcement, Google and partner AsusTek Computer Inc. announced a $329 tablet powered by the same Chrome operating system that runs Chromebooks. Most non-Apple tablets run Google’s Android mobile OS.
Apple accounted for 17 per cent of mobile computing shipments to American students in kindergarten through high school, according to data from the third quarter of 2017 published by Futuresource Consulting. Devices running Google’s operating systems held 60 per cent of the market, and Windows PCs had 22 per cent. While Macs and iPads make up less than 20 per cent of Apple’s sales combined, students and teachers are a key market to drive future purchases.
Marketing executive Susan Prescott announced a new app called Schoolwork for iPads that helps teachers assign work and monitor student progress.
The iPhone maker also unveiled a new service called ClassKit. It allows developers to write apps that integrate with the Schoolwork service. This will let teachers send students to specific parts of apps to conduct classwork or access material. The new apps will be available in June.
With the cheaper iPad and new education platform, Apple is banking on changing its foothold in education, but the lower-cost tablet could also help buoy iPad sales more widely.
While the iPad business recently returned to growth after multiple declining quarters, demand for tablets is weak. According to research firm IDC, the market shrank by about seven per cent in 2017. Apple grew three per cent last year and leads the industry with a quarter of the market.