Apple takes on Google in education with cheaper iPad and new software

Mar 29, 2018 | News On Japan

Mar 29, 2018 (Japan Times) - Apple Inc. 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 Googleâ€™s cheap Chromebook laptops, which have become popular in schools. Apple also introduced a new education service called Schoolwork, which will compete with Googleâ€™s Classroom software.

The new iPad has a 9.7 inch screen and costs $299 for students and schools, and $329 for other users. It supports the Apple Pencil accessory, a first for a non-Pro iPad model. Apple also said it is releasing new versions of its iWork productivity apps that work with the Pencil stylus. The Pencil will cost $89 for students, $10 below the regular price.

Apple executive Greg Joswiak called the new iPad â€œfaster than virtually any Chromebook,â€ 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 an iPad tool for designing e-books.

On the previous day, ahead of Appleâ€™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 Googleâ€™s Android mobile operating system.

Apple accounted for 17 percent 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 Googleâ€™s operating systems held 60 percent of the market, and Windows PCs had 22 percent. While Macs and iPads make up less than 20 percent of Appleâ€™s sales combined, students and teachers are a key market to drive future purchases.

Marketing executive Susan Prescott announced the Schoolwork app for iPads that helps teachers assign work and monitor student progress. The firm also unveiled a new service called ClassKit, which allows developers to write apps that integrate with the Schoolwork service. This will let teachers send students to specific parts of apps to conduct class work or access material. The new apps will be available in June, Apple said.

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