How Apple’s Education Devices Changed Through the Years
If you grew up in an American school, there's a good chance you learned to type and do schoolwork on an Apple computer. That's not a coincidence. Apple has long been involved with schools to provide discounts and special packages to students and teachers alike. During the 1990s, the education market was lucrative enough to even justify the development of unique devices that were only sold in bulk to schools. Here, a tour of Apple's education devices throughout the years.
AlamyApple IIe
Long before the Mac, there was the Apple II. Apple's first iconic computer became a mainstay in American classrooms in the 1980s. In fact, Apple donated thousands of Apple IIe desktops to California schools starting in 1983 as part of a program called Kids Can't Wait. Untold numbers of students got their first taste of BASIC programming, not to mention The Oregon Trail, on a classroom Apple II.
Susan Biddle/The Washington Post/Getty ImageseMate 300
In the 1990s, Apple overextended itself with a number of projects, one of which was the infamous Newton personal digital assistant. In 1997, Apple aimed again at students with a special Newton called the eMate 300. Designed by Jony Ive, it was the only Newton with a built-in keyboard and its distinctive translucent green shell helped it withstand impressive amounts of abuse. In the classroom, infrared "beaming" let students exchange documents (or stylus-written notes) and 28 hours of battery life made this a capable companion.
PowerMac G3 All-in-One
This education-exclusive Mac is one of the company's strangest. To Apple design devotees, this desktop is the missing link between the beige Macintosh computers of the early '90s and the original Bondi Blue iMac that took the world by storm and saved Apple from bankruptcy. This grey G3-powered all-in-one debuted months before that first iMac, giving translucent plastic and curves a test drive in schools before debuting the new style across Apple's lineup by the end of the millennium.
Apple/Getty ImageseMac
When the iMac line switched to all-LCD in 2002, Apple was left without an affordable computer for schools. Enter the eMac. Originally exclusive to schools, Apple opened up orders to retail shoppers within months of it being announced. These smooth, bulbous machines were decently priced, but notably weighed a shocking 50 lbs, making them unwieldy to unbox.
Matt Child/AlamyMacBook
Not every Mac Apple sold to schools has been a special model. The stalwart white plastic MacBook was discontinued in 2011, but remained available to educational buyers seven months after its public death. This sub-$1,000 laptop was replaced by cheaper MacBook Airs, which soldiers on as Apple's low-end option for schools buying in bulk.
Philip Sowels/Getty ImagesiMac
Apple's made a few education-specific models of its iMac desktops, most notably in 2009 and 2011. These models were physically identical to the version you'd buy in an Apple Store, but with weaker specs, less RAM, and smaller hard drives, resulting in a smaller price tag. The 2009 version also axed Bluetooth and the infrared remote receiver to help keep costs down to a minimum.
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