Under Pressure, Apple Lowers iPad Cost For Schools

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — There are teacher- and student-friendly apps and a lower cost for Apple’s new iPad that’s designed for schools.

Teachers can grade papers, make puzzles and lesson plans. Students can splay open a frog using a stylus on the screen instead of a scalpel on an actual amphibian.

The 9.7-inch iPad will set schools back $299 per device — a $30 cut from the consumer cost.

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Apple Pencil — for art projects, virtual dissection, and more — is sold separately with a student discount, but now works with this cheaper iPad. There’s also a third-party model, the Crayon by Logitech, available for under $50.

The announcement comes as Apple tries to claw its way back to dominance in the classroom — or at least toward parity with Google, which owns the biggest chunk of the school market thanks to its Chromebooks.