https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/26/17155190/apple-education-event-2018-cheaper-ipads-chromebook-war

Apple has a big problem. Just five years ago, its iPads and Mac laptops reigned supreme in US classrooms, accounting for half of all mobile devices shipped to schools in 2013. Apple has now slipped behind both Google and Microsoft in US schools with Google’s Chromebooks leading the way in classrooms, securing nearly 60 percent of shipments in the US as overall iPad sales declined for three straight years. Apple is now ready to strike back against Chromebooks with some cheaper iPads.

Apple is holding a special education-focused event on Tuesday that promises “creative new ideas for teachers and students.” Rumors suggest Apple is preparing to launch a $259 budget iPad model this year, while Bloomberg reports that a “low-cost iPad” will be announced alongside new education software. The new iPad could even support a stylus, like the Apple Pencil found on the more expensive iPad Pro models. Although a cheaper MacBook had been rumored to arrive, Tuesday’s event will almost certainly be centered on the iPad. Apple’s main education site has 17 devices pictured, 16 of them are iPads and only a single one is an aging MacBook Air that’s being used to administer six iPads. “What’s a computer?” asks Apple in a recent ad, making it clear the iPad is the future.