Earlier this week, Apple created some waves in the community by adding strict Unidays verification to its online education store. Now it appears to be reversed course.
It’s a strange move. The Unidays process is one used around the world, and it wasn’t surprising that Apple brought it to the US. Under the previous store, anyone could purchase an Apple device through the education store, as Apple required no proof that they were actually a student. Changing it made sense and also made us wonder why it took so long.
But just as quickly as Apple brought verification to the U.S. education store up to speed with the rest of the world, it’s now removed any mention of it. Visiting the education site now beings up a regular storefront with the available products, and you can click through to buy any of them.
To register for the Unidays site, college students need to enter their school email address and click a verification link. Some students are presumably already registered and can find Apple products on the Unidays site for the same discount as Apple’s own education store. The site only applies to college students, which left K-12 students without a clear way to buy discounted Apple products.
Apple limits education purchases per category each year. However, students can buy multiple Macs since MacBooks, iMacs, and Mac minis and all defined as separate categories.
It’s not clear if the change is permanent or if Apple is planning on bringing back the Unidays verification. Macworld has contacted Apple for clarification and we will update this article if we receive further information.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.